A Mother's Need
by FlameConsumes
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto was a fresh green Jounin when he was challenged to his first drinking competition. Without the Kyuubi acting as a second liver, things go by the wayside pretty fast. What's Naruto to do when he wakes up in a bed that is not his own with a woman as naked as him?
1. A Chance Encounter

I don't own Naruto.

The sun had recently sunken behind the horizon, and the night owls migrated to their favorite bars in a search for enjoyment. In a particular shinobi bar, four young adults were well into celebrating their recent promotions by indulging in one of the vices of shinobi and civilians alike: alcohol. They sat around a rugged wooden table trading smiles and laughs. Alcohol bottles littered the table, and all of the friends had a fresh bottle close by. They all wore the same standard green flak jacket, and each of them had a Konoha headband proudly displayed somewhere on their person. The jackets looked noticably stiff on all four of them, and that was a characteristic that showcased their newness. The blonde man, who sat nearest to the window, had a small glass of potent liquid in his hand and close to his mouth. He also had many more of the small cups lined up within arm's reach. He looked at the wild looking man straight across the table in the eyes. His blue eyes stared intently in the brown ones of his opponent. The feral man returned the look with one equally as intense and spoke up with a grin that exposed his prominent canines.

"You ready to lose, Naruto?" Kiba said while swirling and inspecting the contents of his glass. They were about to commence a drinking game between the two. No one knew how it came to this point, but no one cared to stop their self-destructive fun. Not even Shikamaru, who usually would think that having two drunken idiots to deal with would be too troublesome.

"I haven't lost a drinking game in my life, Kiba." Naruto replied smugly. It was true, but not because he could handle his drinks.

"Naruto," Shikamaru interjected while lighting another cigarette, "This is your first time in a drinking game." Naruto took a side glance at Shikamaru then chuckled.

"My statement still stands correct! Choji, on your call!" Naruto said as he readied his glass even more than before. Kiba jolted to do so as well. Choji stood up straighter in his chair and lifted his heavy arm skyward. He looked at both competitors before resting his eyes in the middle of the table.

Naruto's bravado did an excellent job of masking his nervousness. He did not have an exstensive history with alcohol, and after telling the Kyubbi to sit this one out, he had no clue how his body would handle the amount of alcohol that he was going to down. He wondered if doing this would be worth it. He saw what alcohol did to people and did not like the idea of waking up in an unfamiliar place with no recollection of how he got there. He was not worried about one thing though, he was definitely going to beat Kiba.

"And... Go!" Choji said as he sent his arm down in an arc. It made a swiping sound as it cut the air on its way down. Naruto was immediately sent out of his worrying. Without hesitation the two competitors threw their heads and glasses back. The alcohol burned on its way down their throats. In synchronization their hands slammed the cups down onto the table with loud clinks. They both quickly grabbed another and continued to compete. Every other drink or so one would take a glance at the other, looking for a sign of them slowing down and breaking. Eventually, both slowed down until they grinded to a halt. Both competitors had their heads resting on the table in an attempt to settle their spinning world, exhausted from their activity. Their heads were facing their respective collections of empty glasses and counting them.

"21...22...23..." They counted in unison. Their voices got louder as the number got higher.

"27! Beat it, Blondie!" Kiba yelled triumphantly.

Naruto now had his chin resting on his palm and was looking at Kiba through an empty glass in his hand. He giggled at the strange effect the glass had on Kiba's image. He put it down before sliding it to Kiba and crossing his arms with a huge grin on his face.

"28!" He gloated. Kiba groaned and let his arms drop to his sides and head hit the table while he muttered swears under his breath. Naruto leaned back in his chair and had both arms up with his hands making victory signs. He almost fell backwards but his knees caught the underside of the table and the chair was sent back down to rest on all four legs. He had a brief moment of panic but he played off his mistake by asking Kiba for a reward.

"Reward? Ya serious?" Kiba asked with an arched eyebrow. There was no reward discussed when they initially formed this game in their heads.

"Yeah! Whas' it gon' be?" He slurred.

"Y'ain't gettin' jackshit!" Kiba said while shaking his head. Naruto was disappointed.

"Wha? No puppy? No money? No... girl?" Naruto asked in a childish and mischievous way. He was just prodding the man for a reaction. Kiba snorted and shook his head with more vigor.

"As if you would getta girl for a reward, much less get one in general." He joked while checking inside his vest pouches, before pulling out a watch and grimacing. The dig at his courting game bugged Naruto for an indescribable reason, and he responded with confidence.

"Yeah? Bet I could getta girl in here!" He said while making wide swinging gestures with his arms. It was a bold claim for two reasons. Reason one was that he had never had a girlfriend before, and reason two being that everyone in attendance was a battle hardened shinobi that was not going to be put in awe by his profession like civilians were known to be.

"Doubt you could, but I gotta get goin'. Promised I'd be back earlier than now." Kiba said as he got up from his chair and stumbled to the door. Naruto put his head down again and stared at the many glasses that he had. Shikamaru and Choji both looked at each other before they both nodded and stood up from their seats. They both decided that they had enough celebration.

"Hey Naruto, are you gonna stay here for a bit longer? Me and Shika have had enough." Choji said while jerking his thumb to Shikamaru. His reply was a weak thumbs up from the blonde man. Shikamaru put a hand on Choji's shoulder and spoke up.

"I'm betting that he'll be fully sober before the sun's up." He said reassuringly while pushing the door open with his back. He gave one last look at Naruto before shaking his head in amusement and exiting with his friend. Naruto's head was still on the table as he played with the empty glasses from his battle. He thought about what Kiba said as he built the glasses up into a pyramid.

"Whas Kiba talkin' bout? Sayin' I can't get a girl?" He whispered while knocking down the pyramid and regretfully listening to the loud and numerous clinks of the glasses hitting the table and each other. The noise was enough for him to sit up straight and look embarrassedly around the building to see if anyone was glaring at him for his disruption. His eyes came upon the back of a shapely feminine form that was sitting alone at a bar stool. He studied her as Kiba's words came back to him, and with a defiant smile he made up his mind to prove him wrong. He stood up from his chair and instantly felt like he was walking on a water bed. It took him a few discombobulated seconds before he felt confident enough to move. _I'm__ gonna show him! _He thought as he wobbled his way over to the bar and made sure to seem as sober as he could when he got near. The worry of what could go wrong entered his mind but was quickly ran out by the liquid courage that was in his system. He sat down on the stool next to her and tried his best to act indifferent to her. He studied her but could not see much as her head was slightly down and her silky, long, black hair covered her face from view. He did however notice the growing collection of glasses that were by her side and figured that she could not have been much better off than him.

_Alright, now what do I say? _He thought, but his mouth already decided.

"Hey, what brings you here?" He said and instantly slapped himself mentally. _What a lame line! _He thought. He paled when her head slowly came up and turned to him. The lights at the front of the bar were much brighter than the ones that lit his table, and her stunning face made his eyes squint even more. She had beautifully dark eyes and pale skin, and Naruto could have sworn that he knew her. His drunkenness, however, prevented him from putting a name on her beautiful face. Her mouth moved and Naruto was brought to focus on her lips. She moved them again and Naruto realized that she was talking.

"Hey." She said. "What was it you said?" Naruto thought she had an incredibly sweet voice, and answered with a face that was tinted red by not only alcohol.

"Wh-what brings you here?" He stammered. She smiled at him for an unknown reason and answered.

"I had a hard day today. What about you?" she said in an incredibly friendly way. Did she know him?

"What about me?" Was his intelligent reply. She giggled at his goofiness and answered again.

"What brings you here?" Now Naruto never considered himself a master of conversation, but not even he was prepared for the absolute pinnacle of human interaction that he was about to grace this beautiful woman with.

"M-my legs!" He blurted out as he pointed at his legs, and to have even more effect he raised them a little. How else would he get there, or anywhere? Immediately after that he felt his soul leave his body. He cursed alcohol and the Kyuubi for listening to him. He looked at the woman in horror as her previous tipsy giggle became full on laughing. She was loud enough to draw the attention of many of the other patrons. Naruto was the only one of the two to be aware of this, and he tried to calm her down by changing the subject.

"Y-you said you had a rough time today, right? What's that all about?" She quickly stopped laughing and her voice lost most of its jovial tone.

"I've actually been lonely for a while, so I came here to have a few drinks." She said before she took a look at the collection she had off to her side. "Well, more than a few." Naruto's eyes quickly noticed the sadness in her eyes, and his compassion reached out for her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Naruto asked and the woman seemed surprised.

"You wouldn't want to listen to a woman vent, would you?" She asked carefully, as if asking would turn him away.

"I've got all night." He said and saw her eyes fill with what he believed to be gratitude. She knocked on the table and put up two fingers. Her voice returned to the pleasant joyfulness that Naruto was glad to hear.

"Bartender, two more drinks please!" She said happily as the burly man nodded. He slid two glasses their way and Naruto was of half the mind to decline the drink. He was _not _confident in his ability to stomach another drink, but he did want to offer his help and time to her. He stopped the sliding glass with his hand and looked at the woman for an answer. Her eyes were attentively looking into his own, and she had her drink extended towards him in a toast. He smiled and clanked his glass against hers, and they both drank together.

_I think I'm gonna regret that_. He thought as he felt himself get woosier.

That was the last conscious thought Naruto had for a while. The rest of the night was a blur. The morning after, however, was remembered in crystal clarity.


	2. An Unfamiliar Room

I dont own Naruto.

The early morning sunlight found its way through a crack in the window's blinds and assaulted Naruto's closed eyes with pinpoint accuracy. The bright light warmed his sleeping face and caused his eyes and nose to crinkle in an attempt to stop the brightness from disturbing him. It did not work though, and Naruto woke up without a sound. Without opening his eyes, he turned his head away and tried to fall back asleep. An itch on his nose made itself known and demanded his attention, so Naruto raised his arm to scratch at it. Or he would have, if his arm was not stopped by something covered in hair.

This immediately removed all the grogginess Naruto had from sleep, and he was now wired awake, and his pulse was racing. His eyes remained closed, but his other senses were going off the charts. He could feel that the bed was definitely bigger and softer than his own. He also felt the warmness of someone else's skin intimately touching his own. He heard the consistent breathing of someone right next to him. He knew his arm was under this person's head, and they were using it as a pillow.

After piecing the evidence together, Naruto knew exactly the situation he was in. He was naked in a bed with another person, who was equally as naked. He was also in a place he didn't know, with no recollection of how he got there.

_Great._

The entire premise seemed like a scene straight out of one of Jiraiya's books, but Naruto found no amusement in his situation. He could only go without opening his eyes for so long, so he decided to fully take in his surroundings. He counted down in anticipation.

_3... 2... Please don't be a dude... and 1!_ He opened his eyes wide and upon seeing the stranger's face he instantly remembered his time at the bar. Her face was even more beautiful than it was when he first saw it, and he took a few moments to take it in. He noticed new features that he hadn't before because of his intoxication, like how she was certainly older than him. Her age did not detract from her beauty though, it just made her look more regal. Her head was tranquilly resting on his arm, and her black hair was messily snaking out in many directions. She had a look of deep comfort on her face, and Naruto found himself feeling relaxed. A smile found its way onto Naruto's face, and his worry when he first woke up was replaced with acceptance. He had never been in this situation before, but he soon found himself enjoying it. Her right leg and arm were both resting on his body, and Naruto had never felt so comfortable before.

That comfortableness was quickly dashed out when he heard a string of knocks on the door. His breath hitched and he stared at the door in intense silence before a muffled voice was heard.

"I'm back from my mission, Mom." Naruto was sure it was a male voice, and he was stunned when he heard him call her mom. Naruto was okay with waking up in a single woman's bed, but waking up with someone's mom stretched across his body was a difficult situation that he did not want to be caught in. He knew that walking out and leaving was no longer an option, and that he had to cut his time with the sleeping beauty short. With delicate care he lifted her limbs off from his body and meticulously pulled his arm out from under her head. He supported her head to prevent the sudden change from waking her. He tried his best to do all this without glancing below her face, and by the end of it, he covered her body all the way up to her neck with the soft white blanket. He did every action as silently as he could, and he thanked the alcohol in her system for keeping her sedated.

After he wormed his body away from her and off the bed he felt cold. His arm that was under her head began to tingle as blood began to flow back into it, and he swung it around to speed up the process. He studied the room around him as he did this, and was taken aback by the numerous articles of clothing that were haphazardly thrown around the room. He began collecting his own clothes to cover himself and her clothes to stack neatly by the foot of the bed. His black shirt was the first thing he put on, and he kept searching for his boxers. He found his khaki cargo pants, his headband, his boots, and his vest all before he could find his boxers. He was sure he had worn them yesterday, but they were nowhere to be found. That was until he looked higher than the floor, and his brows raised in incredulous surprise when he saw them spinning above, draped over one of the blades of the ceiling fan fastened above the bed. He stared at them slowly spin in confusion and mild amazement.

_Wild_.

He slowly got back on the bed and stood up on it to reach the fan. He grabbed his boxers and deftly hopped off the bed before putting them on. He was halfway done sliding his pants up before he heard another knock on the door. The knock startled him and he tripped over one of his pant legs. His fall resulted in a loud bang that he was sure alerted everyone in the house. He quickly recovered from his fall and was relieved to see her still asleep. He then turned his head to the door while fumbling with the pants.

"Mom? Are you alright?" The voice on the outside of the door sounded worried. "I'm coming in." Naruto watched in horror as the doorknob turned, and he decided that now was as good a time as ever to leave. He focused in his mind with closed eyes, and found himself in his own house milliseconds before the door opened. He wiped his brow in relief, and thanked the power of seals. Who knows what would have happened if someone walked in to see him in their mother's bedroom. He finished putting his pants on before he fell back onto his couch and looked up to his ceiling while letting out a relived sigh.

When his pulse finally settled down he decided to get on with his day. He began cooking some breakfast seeing that it was still early in the morning. He opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of eggs along with a gallon of milk. He set them down on the counter and started the stove burner all the while whistling an upbeat, nameless song. When the eggs were done cooking, he put them on a piece of toast and poured out a tall glass of milk. He carried both cup and plate over to the small island and sat down on a stool. He ate the food in a comfortable silence, and then he sat on his couch while practicing his calligraphy. He had the whole day off thanks to his promotion, so he decided that he needed to occupy his time with something. He practiced for a sizable amount of time before he heard a swift knock on his door. He got up from his couch and strolled over to the door and opened it. A former team member was at the door. Naruto smiled.

"Good morning Sasuke!" He said happily. Sasuke was immediately unnerved by the joy in Naruto's face and voice, and he replied to the blonde in a tone not nearly as happy.

"Morning." He said and Naruto simply nodded.

"What brings you here to my home?"

"I came back from a mission earlier this morning and wanted to congratulate you for your promotion." He explained.

"Well, thanks! Congratulations on your promotion too. It's a shame you were out of the village and couldn't celebrate it with me and the guys. It was fun!" Naruto said. Sasule nodded in agreement before speaking.

"That's also a reason why I came here. My mother and I are going to celebrate my promotion at home, and I wanted to invite you to come over. As an apology for missing your celebration." He said each sentence faster and quieter than the previous, as if saying them would hurt his reputation.

"I'd love to!" Naruto gave a thumbs up and grinned in a way that reminded Sasuke of a duo of green clad maniacs. He shuddered at the thought. The happiness that the blonde man was exerting was beginning to scare him.

"What has you so happy, Naruto?" He asked. "Did you win the lottery?"

"You could say that!" Naruto said with a hand scratching his head.

"Well, that's not really an answer." Sasuke mumbled but didn't press the issue. "Anyway, I need to pick up some stuff for the celebration. Can you help get some things, so we can get them all faster? We are planning to have it around two."

"Sure, just give me a list." Naruto said and Sasuke quickly wrote down things for Naruto to get. Sasuke then left Naruto's apartment and the blonde was soon to follow. He locked the door behind him and made his way to the market. He read the list in his hand and held a mental conversation with himself to think about where he could find the items. His thinking drifted to the unexpected but welcomed invitation Sasuke gave him. He had never been invited to his house before, or met his mother, so he was excited to see what it was like in the almost abandoned Uchiha District.

He wandered around the market, buying things on the list when he found himself in front of a butcher. Beef was on the list so he entered the store and gazed at the various meats that hung around him. He walked to the counter and ordered what he needed. The butcher bagged the meat and handed it to the blonde while wishing him a good day. Naruto turned around and made his way back to the entrance when he spotted a familiar face staring at the multiple cuts displayed on the hooks.

"Whatcha doing here, Kiba?" He asked. Kiba turned to him in surprise, but he smiled after seeing who it was.

"Nothing much."

"What are you gonna buy?"

"Nothing. Just window shopping." This confused Naruto.

"Who window shops for meat?" This got a reaction out of Kiba.

"I do!"

"Why?" Naruto asked, and Kiba was getting slightly annoyed.

"Because I enjoy meats. Like this one," He picked up a large chunk from a display. "This is from a giant bear that was killed in the Forest of Death during this year's Chunin exam. Just look at this marbling." He said while practically drooling. Naruto gave him a look that conveyed concern, and Kiba did not like how this conversation was going.

"So, what are _you_ doing here?" He asked to change the subject, and it worked.

"Im picking up some stuff for Sasuke's promotion celebration." He said as he began to walk. Kiba followed him leisurely.

"Really?" Kiba asked surprised. "He doesn't seem like the kind to do celebrations."

"He isn't really..." Naruto realized before a thought crossed his mind. "I think his mom is putting him up to it."

"Yeah, that seems more likely than anything, but then again I don't know his mom. She's more reclusive than him, if that's possible. So, where'r you going next?" Kiba said as they finally exited the butcher. Naruto took a look at the list that he produced from his pocket and read from it quietly before stuffing it back in.

"Do you know where I could get some vegetables?" Kiba scoffed at the mention of greens, but he decided to offer his help.

"Yeah, there's a produce stand not far down from here. I'll show ya." He said while pointing down the road.

"Thanks." Naruto said. He and Kiba started walking down the busy street making sure not to bump into any of the other market goers. Now that they were out of the butcher, Kiba was able to smell scents other than meat, and he picked up a rather strong odor coming from the man he was bringing to the vegetable stand. It got strong enough to the point that Kiba could no longer stand ignoring it.

"So uh... Who's the lucky girl?" He asked awkwardly but with confidence. Naruto stiffened and gave Kiba a confused look.

"What do you mean?"

"You met a girl last night?"

"I... did." Naruto said slowly.

"And you?"

"And I what?" Naruto said genuinely confused. The confusion made Kiba impatient.

"You had sex with her." He declared. Naruto raised an eyebrow before agreeing with him.

"I guess." It did make sense to him. After all, he did wake up entangled with a naked beauty. Surprisingly, Naruto was not freaking out over the revelation.

"The fuck you mean _'I_ _guess_?' You reak of it, man!" Naruto didn't dare to deny Kiba's smelling prowess, but he did smell his shirt sleeve for a scent he could faintly detect.

"Well, I had my suspicions..." He said while putting a finger on his chin. "I just couldn't be sure." Kibas mouth was wide open while looking at the man with disbelief.

"How could you not know if you had sex with someone?" He said loudly while flailing his arms around. Naruto, being especially conscious of how others act around him, noticed the crowd of listeners that Kiba was generating from his outburst and decided to end the conversation.

"Are we almost there yet?" He said in an unnaturally stern way. Kiba straightened up and dropped the conversation.

"Yeah, It's this one over here." He said as he approached a stand with green produce all around.

"Excuse me, do you have any cabbages?" Naruto asked politely.

"I do, how many do you want."

"Just one will be fine, thank you." He replied while digging into his pocket and grabbing his wallet. The clerk handed him the cabbage while he gave the man the proper amount of money. He thanked the man again before he left for Sasuke's house with Kiba not far behind.

"So, uh Naruto, what's her name?" Kiba questioned. Naruto turned and faced him

"I... didn't ever get it." He replied slowly.

"You had sex with her and didn't even get her name? You dog."

"I never asked for a name... neither did she." Naruto said defensively.

"Not even in the morning, when things died down?" Naruto gave an awkward chuckle.

"Well, I didn't stay long. I had to get the hell outta dodge when her son came knocking on her door."

"A mother?" Kiba gave Naruto's shoulder a punch. "You _dog!_" The two friends continued to walk while speaking nonsense together. When they just exited the market when Naruto spoke up.

"As much as I enjoy hanging out with you, I'm going to their house now, and I don't think they would appreciate me bringing a plus one. I don't think Sasuke could handle that much social interaction." He said.

"Heh, you're right. It was getting boring following you anyways. See ya." Kiba said while waving and turning around. Naruto waved back and continued on his way. He had decided to change his clothes before going to the Uchiha District while he was shopping, so he was making his way back home. After that, it was straight to the party.


	3. Foreign Territory

I don't own Naruto.

The gate to the Uchiha complex was a sight to behold. The object itself was composed of black metal bars spaced apart to create doors, but the arch that topped the gate was made of expertly carved marble that now shows its lack of maintenance. In the center of the marble, at the highest point of the gate, the Uchiha clan symbol was proudly displayed. Naruto was sure the gate was a source of pride for the clan when they were still around, but when he looked at it, all he saw was how it had been taken over by vines and grime. The decrepit gate creeped the blonde out a bit, but that was not going to stop him from celebrating with his friend. He pushed the large gate open and kept walking, with his bag of groceries in his hand.

Naruto had never been in the compound before, but was not afraid of getting lost. From the directions Sasuke gave him earlier that day, his friend's house should be on the main path through the complex. It also should stick out like a sore thumb, because it was the only house that was still being cared for. All the other houses were dirtied by years of neglect; none of them had been touched since the massacre. They gave off a very ominous and bleak mood, and Naruto was thankful that he found their house before the structures filled him with dread.

The house was slightly bigger than the others, being that the clan head's family lived there. It also was well kept, with flowers and other plants littering the lawn. Naruto looked at the greenery after he knocked on the front door. He always had an interest in gardening, but never had the time or space for it. The hobby was probably too trivial for Sasuke to have an interest in it, so Naruto assumed that his mother was the one responsible for the appealing scenery. The door opened not to long after he knocked, and he was greeted by the male Uchiha. He was wearing casual clothing, something that Naruto almost never saw the man in. Naruto himself was wearing clothes just as casual. He had on a burnt orange T-shirt and blue jeans.

"Glad you could make it. Thought you got lost for a second." Sasuke said with a smirk while opening the door wider for entry. Naruto humphed and took his shoes off near the other ones. He looked at Sasuke and lifted the bag in his hands with a questioning look. Sasuke nodded before tilting his head to sign for Naruto to follow him. The entry way came into an open living room, and Sasuke led him farther to the kitchen, which was separated by a partial wall. Naruto looked around, impressed by the spacious size of the house. The living room was easily the size of his apartment, and the "L" shaped couch looked awfully inviting. His observations switched to the kitchen when Sasuke led him pass the half wall. There were appliances in pristine condition, and white granite counter tops covered every cabinet that rested on the floor. He was tempted to run his fingers over the smooth stone.

He walked over to the large dining table and set his groceries down next to the ones Sasuke bought. Sasuke took his own purchases out from his bag and Naruto copied him. They threw away the plastic bags, and Sasuke grabbed multiple vegetables and began cutting them. Naruto offered his help, but they only had a single cutting board so he sat down at the dining table. The house was quiet, with only Sasuke's kitchen knife making noise as it hit the wooden cutting board. Sasuke finished cutting a tomato and opened his free hand to gesture for another thing to chop. Naruto picked up a bell pepper that was on the table and tossed it to the black haired man.

"So, is your mother out right now?" Naruto asked in an attempt to get some noise into the room. Sasuke began chopping the new vegetable as he replied.

"No, she was very tired this morning, so she stayed in bed longer than she usually does.

"Rough night, huh," Naruto said absentmindedly. He was leaning back and forth with the kitchen chair.

"Yeah, she slept off her tiredness and woke up around eleven. She went to take a shower just recently. She should be done any time now and be able to help me make lunch," Sasuke explained.

"Yeah. What are we making anyway?"

"My favorite," He said with a smile not often found on his face.

"And that is?"

"You'll see soon enough." He replied while sliding all the chopped pieces off the board and into a pot.

"A surprise," Naruto noted, "Im intrigued."

"I think you'll like it, along with dessert."

"Can I know what that is?" The blonde asked. His response was a shake of the head. "You're killing me with all this suspense."

"Good." Sasuke replied and got back to preparing their food. His hearing picked up the sound of a doorknob turning, and he stopped cutting to look down the hallway. Naruto still sat at the dining table, but his attention was also on the hallway. He wanted to see what Sasuke's mother looked like. When she finally came completely into view Naruto choked on his own spit, and it was only partially because of her beauty.

"Good afternoon, boys. I hope I didn't keep you too long." She said in the sweetest way possible. Her hair was up in a high ponytail and her face radiated happiness, and Naruto knew exactly who this was. How could he forget? He just saw her in the morning.

"Good afternoon, mom." Sasuke said and she nodded at him.

"G-good afternoon, Mrs. Uchiha." Naruto stammered. The female Uchiha turned her head to look at Naruto, and his pulse raced. Naruto noticed that her face did not show any signs of recognition, but she still gave him a warm smile and nod.

"Please, call me Mikoto. And you are?" She addressed him casually, but not with familiarity. Naruto picked up on this and two scenarios came into his mind. She either forgot the entirety of their night together, or she was pretending that she never met him before. Naruto _hoped_ that she was clueless as to what happened between them.

"Naruto. Nice to finally meet you, Mikoto" He said nonchalantly with an extended hand. She took it and shook it. Naruto's pulse was steadily declining to a normal rate as he began to come to terms with the revelation.

"Ah, Naruto. Sasuke tells me about you more than any other person. Nice to meet you, too." Naruto wasn't sure how he should react to the comment. Did Sasuke speak of him with admiration or annoyance? Also, did he have any other friends to speak about? The questions ran through the Uzumaki's mind while his eyes wandered over to his former teammate. The Uchiha had an annoyed look while shaking his head, making it seem like he was embarrassed by his mother's words. He looked back at the source of the embarrassment, and a thought that previously did not strike home hit Naruto with the force of a thousand rasengans.

_I had sex with my best friend's_ _mom._ He thought with wide eyes. The room felt like it had dropped a few degrees in temperature. Sasuke noticed the look on Naruto's face and became concerned.

"What's with the face, Naruto?" He asked.

"I'm fine." He replied while raising his arms with open palms in dismissal. He needed to get the attention off of himself. "Lets get back to cooking!" He offered and smacked his open palm with his fist.

"Yes." The woman said while clamping her hands together. "I think I can take over the main operation now, but you boys can still help." She said while flipping the cutting board over and slapping the slabs of beef onto it.

"Will do!"

"Hn."

The trio worked well together to make their celebratory meal. As they prepared the food, they exchanged small talk and a couple laughs. During this time Naruto was still worried about if Mikoto actually did remember him, but by the end of it he was convinced she did not because of how naturally she acted. When the meal was finished cooking, the three ate at the dining table before moving over to the living room to have some alcohol. All three of them comfortably sat on the couch, stretched out in lounging positions. This time they drank, Naruto did not make the mistake of giving Kurama time off. They drank enough to last them well into the evening, where Naruto decided to say his farewells. He really enjoyed his time in their company, but all good things have to end.

"Well, thank you for having me, but I've got to get going." He said as he sat up from the soft couch cushion. On his way to the exit, a loud boom of thunder rattled the house. He opened the front door slightly to check the weather, and rain practically falling sideways soaked the rug at the entrance to the house. He quickly tried to close it, and could feel the strong wind fight his efforts by blowing against the door. When he won the fight he turned back to the two Uchiha. He looked at the two family members with a look of bewilderment.

"Man, it's really pouring out there." Naruto deadpanned with his thumb stabbing towards the door.

"Yeah. It'd suck to walk in it." Sasuke said without a care.

"Why don't you stay here for the night? The storm is supposed to last until early morning." The mother offered. Naruto was thankful for the offer but tried to decline it.

"Oh I can't take any more of your time. I'll be fine, really. I can use seals to..." Mikoto wasn't hearing it and interrupted him.

"Nonsense, we both have loved your company, and we have plenty of room. We'd love for you to stay the night. Right, son?" She said while looking at the other Uchiha.

"I think he'll be fine in the rain. Idiots don't catch colds anyw..." He stopped as a hand came and smacked the back of his head. "W-we have a guest bedroom." Naruto smiled at the display and weighed the woman's offer in his mind. In reality, Naruto could simply teleport back to his house, like he had done that morning, but after witnessing Mikoto's adamancy for his staying, he did not think he had an actual choice in the matter.

"Well, if I'm not intruding, I think I'm inclined to take you up on the offer." He said. The mother in Mikoto was not going to let him step foot into the inclement weather he figured. How convenient.

"Sasuke, could you show him the guest bedroom, please." She said while picking up the glasses in the living room and putting them in the sink.

"Sure thing." He said while signaling for Naruto to follow him. They went further into the house where Sasuke pointed to a door on the right.

"That's the bathroom." He explained and switched arms to point at the door on the left. "That's the guest room."

"Thanks." Naruto said. Sasuke walked to the door to his room before turning back to Naruto.

"You're welcome. I would show you how the shower works, but I have a mission waiting for me tomorrow morning."

"I know how a shower works, dickhead."

"Oh, you've been in one before?" He teased.

"You better get your beauty rest for your mission."

"Hn. Night." The Uchiha said before disappearing behind his bedroom door.

"Night." He said to no one as he opened the door to his room for the night. When he walked in he took note of how the room was oriented. To a far corner of the room was a single twin sized bed, with a wooden nightstand within arm's reach. On it was a clock and a lamp. In the right corner closest to him there was an empty desk. There was a closet along one of the walls but he did not bother opening it; He had no use for it. All in all the room was bare but comfortable, and it was different to Naruto's cramped, busy apartment. He would not have a problem sleeping in it though. He could sleep on a bed of nails if it was the only bed around. Thankfully, the bed on offer was one arguably softer than his own, and when he lay down on it, he drifted into sleep without hassle.

He did not stay asleep the whole night though, as he was prodded into consciousness by the need to drink. His throat was dry and a glass of water sounded incredibly refreshing to him. He shimmied off from the bed and walked over to the door, where he turned the knob slowly as to not make any noise. He walked just as slow for the same reason, and when he got to the kitchen he made sure to open and close cabinets without making a sound. He was not familiar enough with the house to know where everything was stored, so he had trouble finding the glasses. He did eventually, and made sure to lift a stacked glass straight up in order to prevent it from clanging against any other glass. The loudest part of the whole operation was turning on the faucet, but Naruto was not concerned that it was loud enough to wake the other two. He brought the end of the faucet handle up, and he watched the water fall down into his waiting cup. This faucet was not as loud as the one back home, something that he was grateful for.

He sent the faucet handle back down and put the cup up to his mouth. The water was as refreshing as he thought it would be, and he wiped his face before sighing contently. He wasn't sure where to put the cup, so he lowered it into the sink and again made sure it didn't clash with any glasses. He was proud of himself for being so quiet, but the pride was quickly replaced with fear when the lights unexpectedly flashed on. He was blinded in the center of the kitchen and felt like a caught criminal. He squinted through his taught eyes and saw Mikoto in a night gown. She had one hand leaning on the kitchen wall and another resting on her hip.

"Mikoto? Sorry if I woke you up. I tried to be as quiet as I could." He felt bad.

"It's alright Naruto. I was already awake." She said. Naruto thought that her voice didn't carry the same tone that it did during the day, and he was slightly nervous because of it. Maybe she was mad that he was digging through their stuff. He gulped.

"Oh, so I didn't wake you? That's good to hear. I tried my best to be quiet when I came out here to get some water," He said, trying to explain himself, "What brings you here?"

The woman sauntered slowly towards Naruto, and when she was just feet away, she pointed down to her knees. Naruto dumbly followed her hands and found himself staring at her long, creamy legs. He was confused for a moment, but then two quiet words cut through the then silent room.

"My legs." Mikoto whispered while giving a devious smile. Naruto had a sharp intake of breath when he heard those two soft-spoken words. Mikoto leaned towards the boy before stopping mere inches away from his face. She looked into his eyes in a way that made Naruto feel like a cornered mouse.

"Y-you... remember?" He asked in horror. This was a new situation, one that would likely end in his death if his experiences with Sakura were anything to go off of. She put her finger under his chin.

"Hard to forget such powerful words." She joked and Naruto blushed. He looked at the tile floor in embarrassment, hoping that averting his eyes would make the situation go away. He could still see her feet, and he knew that his action was futile. He sharply looked back up and faced the smirking woman before speaking.

"The night before... It shouldn't have happened." Naruto saw Mikoto's expression immediately change and she became saddened by his words. Her confident smile sagged until it became a quivering lip. She hung her head and played with her fingers while speaking to him. Clearly his words were not what she had expected him to say, and she searched her surroundings before speaking in a defeated voice.

"I- I know it shouldn't have. I was drunk off my ass and so were you. I was in trouble, and you came and offered your help... I was so alone, and when you came over and acted like you cared about me, I couldn't let you leave, so I made sure to keep us drunk... I used you to feel like I had someone." She looked away dejectedly, and Naruto tried to take some pressure off of her. He felt just as guilty.

"Please don't feel like you used me. I came over there on my own will, and I also stayed there on it. The alcohol may have been affecting me, but don't think for a moment that you forced me into anything. I'm just as guilty. In fact, I'm worse than you. All you wanted was someone to talk to. I did it because of... something stupid." His words did not seem to have much effect in changing the woman's deteriorating mood.

"It's all I've wanted." She started to cry. Naruto stiffened from the uncomfortableness in the room; he was not used to emotions like this. He stared with wide eyes as she vented. "My husband is gone, my friends are all gone, and Sasuke has been going on missions 24/7, so I rarely see him. I'm always alone in this huge house, and it gets _so_ unbearable!" Naruto hesitantly put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. He was not sure what to do; comforting crying women was not his forte.

"I can see how I was helpful" He said and immediately wanted to hit himself. What kind of sentence was that? He really was out of his element with this one. Where was the bad guy to explode with jutsu?

"You were more than helpful! That whole night I was ecstatic that there was _someone_ who I could be with, who I could spend time with. It didn't matter what happened, as long as I wasn't alone anymore. But when I woke up and saw you weren't there, I... I crashed back down. I had to see you again, so I made Sasuke invite you to our celebration. All so I could get alone with you and tell you how wonderful it was to be with you last night, and to ask you..." She trailed off.

"Ask me what?" Naruto asked. If there was anything he could do to help, he was eager to do it. Mikoto turned her head to face away from Naruto, and her eyes stared through the living room window. She could not see anything through it, just darkness, but it prevented her from having to face the blonde man. His reflection was just as hard look at. She paused for a short while, before mustering up the courage and facing Naruto.

"If you... you could continue to spend time with me." She saw the look of bewilderment on Naruto's face and scrambled to clear things up. "It doesn't have to be sexual! It just has... I just can't be alone anymore." She said with a flushed face. The emotions conveyed by her words and face filled Naruto with empathy, and he found himself wanting to help the woman like he did the night before.

"I... I can't refuse helping someone who needs it. I'd be glad to give you company." He said and was immediately hugged by the woman.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She exclaimed. Joy and gratitude filled her heart, and a beaming smile filled her face. Naruto was being crushed by the woman's hug. It was a different yet comforting feeling. His chest was warmer than usual.

"You're welcome. Now, let's get to bed." He said as he began walking to the guest room. Mikoto was still attached to his arm, and when he entered the room, instead of leaving she crawled into the bed before he could get a word in. Naruto was going to object, but seeing her face again made him sigh. He promised he would give her company, and he doesn't go back on his promises. He had to make her feel like she was not alone.

And if sleeping next to a beautiful woman such as her would do it,

He would do it.


	4. Mission Bound

I dont own Naruto.

Unlike the last time Naruto woke up with a woman, he was not panicked. Long black strands of hair tickled his nose with each inhale, and a warm cheek on his right pectoral weighed down his chest in a comforting way. He took his free hand and ran his fingers through his own hair, and looked towards the single window in his room that was doing a fair job at keeping the sunlight out. He could hear the soft murmurs of chirping birds as they began their daily conversations. The entire atmosphere was so serene, making this morning one of the most tranquil he had ever woken up to. It also helped that this time he actually knew where he was and how he got there. He did not have to worry about being murdered either. Not that it was a possibility the first time, but who knows.

"I could get used to this," He whispered to himself. It was the second time he had another person to wake up with, and it felt nice. Surprisingly, the man did not feel awkward with there being a beautiful woman lying peacefully on him. His inexperience with women lead him to believe the opposite would have been true.

"I already am," Mikoto replied, startling Naruto. She stretched out her arms upward and arched he back while releasing a healthy yawn. Her yawning also made Naruto do the same. He put a fist up to his face to cover his wide open mouth.

"Hey. G'morning," he replied with an eye smile.

"Morning." She tilted her head up towards him and looked him in the eyes with a contagious smile. Naruto was obligated to return one. Her eyes told him how much she appreciated his actions.

"Sleep well?"

"Best I have in years."

"I'm glad" He said genuinely. Helping people always made him feel amazing. This was no different, and his heart was saturated with an indescribable feeling. He took a look at the clock at their side and noticed the time. Naruto's mouth morphed into a lopsided grimace. Mikoto, seeing his expression, also looked at the clock and gave a pout.

"Do you have somewhere to be today?" That must have been what brought down his mood.

"Yeah" He said as he sat up, making Mikoto also sit up. "My time off from promotion ended last night. Gotta report in soon."

"That's too bad. I was hoping on staying in for a while." She had the soft bedsheets wrapped around her form with a look of content stretched across her face.

"I wouldn't mind laying around either, but I don't want to lose the promotion I just got."

"I'll go make us some tea."

Mikoto slid off the bed and brought all of the bedsheets off with her. They slid away from Naruto and with them their warmth. Feeling the air cool his now exposed legs made Naruto realize that he was still in the clothes he went to bed in. Those being just his boxers. Looking down at his underwear, he understood that he had been wearing them alone since he had went to sleep the first time the night before. He quickly covered himself with a pillow, drawing the attention of the woman. She raised a single eyebrow, and he began to explain himself.

"I uh... don't want to be disrespectful in the presence of a woman" He said and scratched his cheek. Mikoto gave a smirk.

"Your current attire didn't seem to affect your actions in the kitchen last night." Blue eyes widened in realization. Naruto was not self-conscious in most situations, but his cheeks warmed up. He did not remember having a single thought of being just in his boxers during their entire conversation the previous night. His mind was probably occupied with freaking out over the revelation that Mikoto remembered their first night together.

"Nothing to be embarrassed about either. It's nothing I haven't seen before." The way she said it made his cheeks get even hotter. He was sure that he was glowing. The woman watched the blushing man fidget before giving the doorknob a twist. She was about to exit into the hallway before Naruto spoke up.

"Uh... What about Sasuke?" Naruto asked, concerned about what his friend would do after seeing the well rested mother leaving his room. Mikoto's hand that was on the doorknob limply fell to her side. She gave a side glance back to the blond in the guest bed.

"He left hours ago, like he always does. The boy leaves before the sun's even up," She said sadly with a far away gaze. Naruto's brows lifted in slight surprise. He knew that Sasuke was always going on missions, but this level of dedication was something else. He decided then and there to try and convince Sasuke to spend more time with his mother. He did not have to be the only one helping his new friend with her loneliness.

Mikoto opened the door fully, and she walked out and toward the kitchen. Naruto was soon to follow, after quickly sliding on his clothes. The woman was going through cupboards when he reached the kitchen and offered the blonde a seat at the dinner table. He sat down and watched the woman as she started to prepare tea. She put a kettle on the gas stove, and with a quick hand sign and a breath, a fire was lit underneath the container.

"Do you drink tea?" She asked as she leaned against the counter top and watched the kettle. It would take a short while before it was ready, so she decided that conversation would pass the time.

"I don't usually, but I'd love some today." He said, trying to be polite. He was not a heavy drinker of tea, or any hot drink for that matter, but he wanted to be as kind as he could. It was not like he needed any uppers anyway, with the furball in his stomach constantly energizing him. After a short wait, the kettle screamed that it was warm enough. Mikoto then set down two cups at the table and filled them both up with the steaming liquid. Naruto gave his thanks and they drank together.

"So, now that you're promoted, you'll be getting a lot of missions, huh?" The mug she gripped was warming her hand. Naruto took a sip from his own.

"Yeah. I'm not sure how often I'll get one, but the work load's gotta be pretty big. I could be out of the village more often than I've ever been," He answered. He saw her head dip slightly, and realized that what he said was not what she wanted to hear. "But don't worry, I'll make sure to spend as much time with you as you want."

"Thank you, Naruto. But I know that you won't always be able to hang out with me. I think I'll be able to handle the loneliness if I know you'll be coming back." Naruto gave a reassuring smile, stood up, and offered his hand to Mikoto. He was stretched over the table as he confidently stared into her eyes.

"Mikoto, I promise that whenever you feel lonely, I'll come and spend some time with you. And I don't go back on my promises." The woman looked up at the man in awe, before taking his hand with her own and shaking it.

"Thank you" She said gratefully. Naruto gave a bright smile with a thumbs up.

"It's my pleasure! Thank you for the tea, Mikoto. I would love to spend more time with you, but duty calls. I'll make sure to stop by when I can!" He said gleefully.

"See you till then!" She said with equal enthusiasm. Naruto was led to the front door and gave one last farewell before exiting the Uchiha household. He raised a hand up in the air as to wave to his host. Mikoto watched as the boy walked and then ran out of her compound.

"That man is really something else." She said whimsically with her body leaned against the door jamb.

Naruto jumped through Konoha at a slow pace compared to how he usually sped through the village. He was still traveling at a speed that no civilian could match, but he could have easily been passed by any ninja with training. He was going this speed for no reason but to enjoy it. He had woken up in an exceptionally good mood, and he was too busy enjoying the world to care about speed. Helping Mikoto must have made him feel incredibly good. When he got closer to the Hokage tower he fell down onto the road and began to walk towards it. His happiness was spread to those that he greeted all the way to the tower.

He entered the tower and gave a "good morning" to the receptionist, who gave one in return. He made his way to the Hokage's office and opened the door to be greated by the faces of Tsunade and Shikamaru. He nodded towards Shikamaru before addressing the Hokage.

"Reporting in, granny." Her nose crinkled in annoyance. Apparently his good mood was unsuccessful in transferring to the Fifth Hokage.

"Even when you're a Jonin, you still act like a child." Naruto slapped his hand down in the air dismissively.

"Bah, I'll still call you granny when I'm Hokage," he said jokingly. "Now, what am I looking at today?"

"If you become Hokage," she grumbled before gesturing towards the Nara to her side, "Allow Shikamaru to explain, as he will be accompanying you for this mission." Taking his queue, the other new jounin started to speak.

"It's two missions in one. We're tasked with transporting confidential information gathered by our intelligence department to a dead drop in Suna. Normally a mission of this caliber would be assigned to someone below our ranking, but Suna suspects that their drop zone has been compromised by a third party. We are to stake out the drop to confirm or deny this suspicion. Our observation ends when Suna's recovery team secures the information. Unless there is a interception, in which we will apprehend the third party. After this is completed the second phase of the mission begins. This is where I continue on to Suna and you return back home." Shikamaru explained.

During the monologue that Shikamaru was having, Naruto decided to half listen while he looked around the office. He had looked around this room so many times before, but each way he looked he noticed a new detail that he had never noticed before. When he looked to the wall he noticed how the framed pictures of the Hokage were not level with each other, and that the photos looked as if they were staring at him. He looked at the ceiling and traced a crack in it with his eyes. The crack was miniscule, and he was sure it was new, but he did not dwell on it long before he looked foward, to the Hokage's desk in the front of the room. When he looked, he was met with a peculiar sight; Floating in the air was a hard cover, hefty book. It was large in size and its cover was decorated with little gold stitching. It was also spinning closer and closer to him, and it was too late before he noticed where it was going.

_THUD_

"Did you even hear a word he said!?" Tsunade barked. Naruto winced, the corner of the book hit him right between the eyes and the impact was violent enough to get him to see stars.

"Yeah yeah. We gotta drop some dead guys off at their third party and watch if they get suspicious!" He answered confidently. His arms were crossed and he nodded his head up and down, proud with his listening skills.

"I think you hit him too hard, Lady Tsunade." Shikamaru offered.

"I don't think I hit him hard enough!" She replied. "Get a move on you two." Shikamaru gave a nod and walked out the office, taking Naruto with him. The blonde tripped over his own legs during the first few steps, but they safely exited the Hokage Mansion.

"Man, this book hurt like hell." Naruto said as he inspected the projectile. Both the back and front cover were void of any text, so Naruto opened up the book while walking with Shikamaru. To his dissapointment the pages in the book were about as empty as his mind during the debriefing. It was not his fault that he got easily distracted, but it was this useless book's fault for causing him pain. He spotted a trash can and veered off towards it to toss the stack of kindling away.

"Don't do that." Shikamaru said after noticing Naruto's intent.

"Why not?" The book was inches away from falling into the garbage.

"That's our confidential information."

"This?" he asked while tapping the book. "This is nothing but blank pages." To confirm this, he flipped through every page, showing it to his partner. He was right, every page was as white as the abominable snowman's ass cheeks.

"Exactly. We're not going to drop off actual information if there's a breach in security." he explained. Naruto looked at the painful book before frowning, stowing it away in his back pouch, and continuing to walk to the village gate with Shikamaru. After some time walking, Naruto started up the conversation again.

"So, I know what to do after the first phase is done, but why are you continuing on to Suna?" Naruto asked. Shikamaru faltered, if only for a moment, before he responded. Naruto still picked up on it and was now intrigued.

"Just like that book in your pocket, it is confidential information." He said.

"Can I at least get the idea?" He asked. The genius of the two knew the other was not going to give up their prying easily and decided to give him some vague information. Just to try and satiate his curiosity.

"I'm supposed to meet with a member of the council there. We need to discuss... things."

"Oh, really?" Is it someone I know? Can you tell me their name?" Shikamaru shook his head rapidly.

"Classified" He said and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. Naruto's mouth shaped into a sly smile. His teammate's reluctance gave him an idea of what it was about. Shikamaru saw the way Naruto looked and gave him a cautionary glance.

"Oh, that's weird. Her name's Classified? I thought it was _Temari." _The reaction he got from Shikamaru all but confirmed it.

"I... don't know what you're talking about." His head quickly turned upwards while a hand reached up to scratch his temple.

"Uh, I think you know exactly what im talking about, Champ. Now, do you request _all _the missions to Suna or do you keep it on the down low and only request half of them?"

"Will you accept any answer?" Shikamaru's cheeks were red with embarrassment. Similarly to how Naruto's were earlier that day.

"Only the one I'm looking for!" Naruto said in a sing-song voice. This was going to be fun. It was not every day that Naruto got under the Nara's skin.

"And here I thought this mission would be a cake walk. Troublesome." A face was covered by two hands.

"A cake walk? Do you know who I am?" Naruto asked, almost offended. His answer was Shikamaru digging through his flak jacket and producing a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He pulled a stick out with his mouth and shook his hand to open the lighter. The cigarette was soon ignited, and smoke escaped from the brown haired man's mouth. The lighter shut with a loud click and both it and the pack returned to their storage place.

"Naruto Uzumaki." He finally said, trying to keep the cancer stick from falling out of his mouth.

"Don't forget it. Now, let's get a move on! This is gonna be fun!"

AN: To those expecting lemons or spicy scenes, I do have them planned. It just might take a bit to get to them, as I have no experience whatsoever with writing sexually explicit content.


	5. Sand, but not a Beach

I don't own Naruto.

"Man, this sand sucks ass!" A certain blonde complained. He tugged at a section of his sand covered shemagh and pulled it down to cool his face. Airborne sand instantly caked his lower face, and he rubbed his mouth and spat out sand before quickly pulling the fabric back up. He wished he did not need to wear the head covering, but after the flying grains assaulted his bare skin, he realized that it was either wear the appropriate attire or be pelted by sand. His head wrap was a dull, pale color, and it matched the barren dunes that he walked. It also matched with the rest of his clothing, which replaced his standard garb. His tan pants were taped tight starting at his shins, and his long sleeve shirt was also taped off starting at the elbows. This was done to prevent sand from getting in, but it did not do anything for ventilation. It also did a very good at disguising Naruto, who was a very recognizable face around the nations.

"Just our luck that the mission has us going straight through a desert during a sandstorm," Shikamaru said through his own shemagh. His attire was similar to Naruto's, but with slight variations. He enjoyed getting hit by the sand as much as being constantly teased about Temari by his comrade. What made it worse was that the storm prevented him from lighting up. The two continued to cover ground until it they found a suitable place to set up a temporary camp.

It was an old, crumbling building that had been long abandoned. Sand had been blown up against one of its walls and collected into a dune as high as the one story house. They opened the door and sand slid out of the house. The weight of the sand must have made a window give way, because on the inside the actual floor could not be seen through the uneven lumps of sand.

"Great. I've always wanted to sleep in a literal sandbox" Naruto deadpanned. He sat down onto the sand and was relieved to feel its coolness. The powerful wind could still be heard tearing through the dunes, even with the door shut.

"Better this than outside" Shikamaru replied and took his backpack off. He dug through it and pulled out a canteen to take a drink. He then pulled out a portable burner and pot, and began the process of boiling water. While he was doing this, Naruto pulled out the decoy information and began tossing it up in the air and catching it to occupy himself while they waited for the water to boil. He eventually grew tired of tossing the book and began doodling in its pages.

"So, how far out are we from the dead drop?" Naruto asked, looking up from the bool he was scribbling in.

"Not far at all now. If we move at dawn we'll make it well before noon. We'll have plenty of time to set up and watch the drop." He matched Naruto and reclined onto the surprisingly inviting sand pile.

"Nice. Where is it, anyway?"

"A small halfway village used by caravans to resupply and rest. It should be a pretty quiet town, a perfect place to leave information." Shikamaru said as the water in the pot rolled in a steady boil. He grabbed the pot with his now unwrapped shemagh and poured some of the steaming hot liquid into an instant ramen cup. He reached farther and poured the rest into the other ramen cup that was in Naruto's hands.

"Thank you." The blonde said. Most people would prefer something ice cold after trekking through a desert during a harsh sandstorm, but not the blonde who dug into his personal ambrosia. He could eat only ramen for the rest of his life.

"Eat up." Shikamaru said while watching in wonder as his teammate demolished the piping hot instant ramen. The small flame that was warming the pot stayed lit; the two used it as a light source. They enjoyed their noodles in a comfortable silence. Well, a silence if Naruto's loud slurping was ignored. The desert lacked the usual jamboree of animals that the forests they were used to had, but the small crackling of the flame and the sound of blown wind hitting the walls around them gave them company.

They finished their meals and each of them sifted sand into a somewhat flat space large enough to put a sleeping bag on. They both got into their respective bags and put the small, dwindling flame between them. Naruto was on his back with his hands crossed underneath his head, looking through a crack in the roof and into the night sky. There were no clouds in the sky, and their distance from any major civilizations eliminated light pollution. It was perfect stargazing conditions, and as Naruto looked at the heavens above, a question he had formed earlier in the day returned.

"Shikamaru?" Naruto suddenly asked.

"Mn?" He replied through his pillow.

"You and Temari... How does it work out?" Shikamaru turned his head out from the pillow and faced the other man.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you two live in separate villages, and you barely get to visit each other, right?"

"Right." He was not sure where this conversation was going, but was still going to humor him.

"Doesn't that make it hard on both of you? Neither of you get to see each other when you want to."

"It's definitely not a favorable situation. I would rather us be available to each other whenever, but we are making things work out just fine."

"I'm glad." There was a short silence between the two before Shikamaru started back up.

"Since when have you been one to ask these sorts of questions, Naruto?" Shikamaru questioned with his eyes squinting to scrutinize the man across the burner. "Are you trying to make a long distance relationship work?" Naruto put his hands up like he was guilty and tried to take the heat off of himself.

"No, no. Nothing like that. I was just curious as to how you keep a relationship when you're both so busy and far away. I would think most people in your situation would've given up." There was another short silence before Shikamaru spoke again.

"Well, when we do have time together we make the most of it."

"How so?"

"We try to do enjoyable and memorable things. Trying new things, unique experiences, stuff like that. That way when we have a great time our happiness satiates us until the next time we meet. The reward makes the wait worth it." He concluded and when to sleep. Naruto did not go to bed with his friend. Instead, he continued to gaze through the crack in the roof. A strong gust of wind blew some sand in through that same crack, and the grains came plummeting down onto the awake man's face. He was not expecting it, so many granules fell into his eyes. He slammed his eyes closed and shook his head in minor pain. His eyes watered excessive as he rubbed them in silent agony.

"Damn it!" He finally yelled while fisting his eyes. His predicament woke his companion up.

"What are you doing?" He said, annoyed at being awoken. Naruto had just finished clearing his eyes of sand when he said it. He blinked multiple times before answering.

"I... I can't see."

"That usually happens when it's night time."

"No, not like that!" He said and faced the Nara. It was too late though, as snores filled the room. Naruto sighed and leaned away, this time making sure to keep his face away from the crack. He fell asleep soon after.

As Shikamaru said the night before, they left as the sun began to rise, and reached the town well before noon. It was an inconspicuous town as any, with a small amount of locals and merchants doing their tasks as they always have. The two Konoha nins dropped the decoy at the drop about an hour after making it to the stop, and they had been watching it for two hours after that. Both of them had grown tired of waiting around for someone to jack the book, but only the blonde was outwardly annoyed. He fidgeted around in his prone position on the flat rooftop of his building. It was a great position but it sure did feel like an oven with the high sun cooking the top of his roof and himself. He was frying like an egg on a skillet. Shikamaru was across from him, pretending to be an ordinary patron at a small open bar. Together they sandwiched the dead drop, which was a small, decrepit well. Naruto, even though he had been doing this for hours, diligently scanned the scene from his perch again. He quickly spotted a group of three suspicious men enter the town and looked at Shikamaru to see his partner discreetly radio to him.

"My seven o'clock, you see them?"

"Three unknowns, haven't seen 'em before" Naruto confirmed. He was excited at the prospect of action. Hopefully, all this waiting would be worth it, and he would be able to crack some skulls.

"Let's see where this goes." As he said that the group of three split into two groups, leaving one alone. The group of two walked towards the bar that Shikamaru was stationed at, making him quickly cut off radio communication. The loner stayed by the well, and appeared to be digging through his supply bag for supplies. He pulled out his canteen, opened it, and checked for liquid. The container was empty so he turned to the well and started to reel up the water bucket. The well had dried up years ago, and most of the regular visitors knew that. He dipped his canteen down into the bucket and came up with it and the book. The man took a swig while deftly stowing the book away into his utility pouch and walked to his companions at the bar. Naruto saw that Shikamaru was no longer at the bar.

"Those are not the designated couriers." Shikamaru said from beside Naruto. The blonde turned his head over to look at his partner.

"Definitely not, but they took the book, so y'know what that means" Naruto said with a smile.

"Let's wait for them to skip town, I don't want any civies getting in the crossfire if things go south."

"That was my plan, I have a reverse summoning seal on the book. When they get far enough away and they decide to take a peak..." Naruto paused deviously. "Party time."

"Good on you, but will that summoning take me too?"

"Not unless you want it to. Even then, it can spit you out far enough away for you to launch a sneaky attack."

"Well, lets get to waiting then. I can't wait to watch the fireworks."

"Me neither" Naruto said.

The three men who had the drop left as soon as they came, and they continued to walk away from the town until they reached a cavern in the side of a large stone formation. Drifts of sand disguised the entrance well, and the trio felt confident in their safety. They sat around a small lamp, with the book in the hands of the one who retrieved it. Their shadows stretched over the cave wall, making unnatural shapes. All of the men were chomping at the bit to see what secrets the book contained. The leader slowly turned back the front cover of the book, and stared at the book with wide eyes. He blinked multiple times, as if to clear his eyes, and his head swiftly moved back and forth over the pages. He hurriedly flipped pages and pages, and his movements became more fevered the more pages he flipped. The two others quickly grew worried at their boss's antics and wanted to know what caused his actions.

"Whassit say? Eh, boss?" The fat one asked.

"It's..." The leader was at a loss for words. He was practically shaking. He stared at the pages, completely enraptured by their contents. His silence interested his companions.

"What? It's what?" The second man said. This man had very thick glasses and a very noticeable bald spot.

"It's... It's... IT'S A BUNCH OF FUCKIN' DICKS!" He screamed madly. The other two were taken aback, and they worried that their leader had gone mad.

"Lemme see that!" The one with glasses demanded. After it was handed to him he gasped, and the fat man wanted his turn to gawk.

"Over here." He said with an open hand. Once he got the book and took a glance. It was true, on the pages were crudely drawn penises. His face, like those of his two buddies, also turned into one of confusion and anger.

"Can I take a look?" A fourth man asked. Without hesitation the fat man handed over the book and let the man inspect the pages. After a few seconds of inspection, he shook his head and clicked with his tongue. "I do have to admit, it's not my best work."

The three men then noticed what was wrong with the situation and whipped their heads around to look at the new addition to their team.

"Oh, hi." Naruto said while giving a jolly wave. The three men had scowls on their faces and each of them drew a weapon out of anger. They knew that the man in front of them was behind it all. Tips of swords poked dangerously at the giddy blonde.

"What? You don't like my art?" Naruto feigned being offended. He had a hand over his heart and concerned eyes.

"Boys, murder this fool!" The leader commanded. They were all going to charge and attack Naruto, but they found themselves stuck in place. They struggled against this unconquerable force until Shikamaru spoke up from the shadows.

"The more you move, the tighter it binds. So, unless you want your guts to pop out of your body, I suggest you stop struggling." The three stopped resisting the shadows. Their anger was replaced with fear.

"Now that that's over with, let's take you guys to Suna. I'm sure they'd love to deal with you three trouble makers." The three restrained men quivered. Each of them had spent time in Suna's prison, and they did not want to go back. The edge of Naruto's hand was the last thing they saw before they would wake up in a prison cell.

"Alright!" Naruto said as he withdrew three scrolls from his chest pouch. He then unravelled one and placed it on one of the unconscious men before sending chakra into it. A small flash occurred and all that was left afterwards was the scroll on the ground. It was rolled up again and had additional writing on it. He did the same process two more times then got up to go with Shikamaru.

"What now?"

"Well, now that there was actually a breach in their information run, we are going to have to report it to Suna. So that's our next destination. Unless you want to go straight back to Konoha. I should be able to handle it from here."

"Uh. I think I'll go with you. It's been a while since I've visited Gaara. I need to tell him about my promotion."

"Alright. Let's go." The two then began their way to Suna. When they arrived, the two greeted Gaara, who was already aware of their mission. They were then guided to the village's information department to drop off the prisoners.

"This mission couldn't have gone smoother. Thank you, Naruto." Shikamaru said as they left the Suna Interrogation Department.

"No problem, Shika. I'm glad things went as well as they did too. I want to get home as soon as possible."

"Yeah... Hey, Naruto. What was that they said about the... penises in the book? Did you actually draw that in it?"

"Yeah." Naruto replied nonchalantly. His stride never faltered, but Shikamaru stopped dead in his tracks. The young genius had a look of confusion on his face, something that was very rare for him.

"Why?" Was the million dollar question.

"I needed to disguise the sealing array _somehow_, didn't I?"

"I... guess." Shikamaru said, absolutely flabbergasted.

"You have fun with Temari now. Alright? See you when you get back!" Naruto said as his voice got farther and farther away. Shikamaru stood there for a moment, before whipping out a cigarette and lighting it. He shook his head in disbelief but then smiled.

"That man is something else, huh."

Naruto continued to make his way through the village and was eventually strolling through the market district. The pathway was crowded with people and stands, but children still found a way to weave in between the gaps of people while playing games amongst themselves. Naruto had not come here to purchase anything, but he was enjoying looking at the myriad of goods just the same. There were a lot of unique items that Naruto knew he could not get at the marketplace were he lived. It was tempting to purchase something, but Naruto was determined to get home as soon as possible, so he continued on.

The village soon became a minuscule dot on the horizon, and it was sand as far as the eye could see. The sun was beginning to sag in the sky, and Naruto was moving fast, as if he was racing it. He was moving at a speed much faster than the one he and Shikamaru had been going before because he had no one to wait up for. Unfortunately, he could not teleport home, as the signal was too weak to focus on. He looked at the descending sun and guessed that if he could keep going at his speed, he would not have to stop for the night, so he raced foward and quickened up his pace if that was possible. The sand dunes eventually morphed into a checkering of plantlife and dirt, and before long, the sand was replaced entirely by grass and forest. Naruto slowed down a little to catch his breath, and after seeing that the sun was still in the sky and providing light, he decided that he could keep his current pace. His new pace allowed him to focus on things other than speed, and he soon found himself remembering what Shikamaru had said when they were sleeping in what he would call a sand box. He had no clue what he and Mikoto could do that would keep her loneliness away, but he was sure that he would think of something by the time they met again.


	6. First Time for Everything

The village gate was a sight that was all too familiar with Naruto, but it still gave him a warm feeling in his heart when he gazed at the strong and protecting barrier after returning from a mission. It was the first landmark, besides the dense forests around him, that represented his closeness to home. His pace quickened when he saw the massive gate. Now instead of a brisk walk he was jogging to the gate with a smile on his face. He slowed back down to a walk to greet the gate keepers warmly, who were more than happy to see him, and then he made his way to the Hokage tower.

When he reached the entrance to the tower and opened the main door, he was surprised and glad to see Sasuke talking to the receptionist. He, like Naruto, had just returned from a mission and was alerting the lady at the desk that he had plans to see the Hokage. Naruto guessed that whatever words Sasuke was saying were going right over the head of the young receptionist, because all she was doing during the conversation was nodding, blushing, and staring at the Uchiha. Naruto, oblivious as he could be at times, was easily able to pick out that the young woman was flustered over being so close to the man, and Naruto told himself to turn his friend onto that fact. Naruto figured that the brooder could get lonely, so he wanted to show him some options to replace going out on missions. After Sasuke finished whatever he was doing, he made his way up to the Hokage. Naruto walked up to the desk with haste, as he wanted to catch up to Sasuke, and spoke to the lady.

"I'm back from my mission. See ya!" He said it so fast the lass barely had enough time to register that a new person had come. She looked to where he was going and tried to stop him with a meekly raised hand.

"H-hey, wait! Naruto, someone is already seeing Lady Hokage!" She said with surprise still lingering in her voice. Naruto, who already had the door to the stairs half open, seemed to weigh her words in his head for a brief moment before speaking.

"Eh, like she cares." With that he entered the staircase, leaving a bewildered receptionist staring at where he once was. He climbed two steps at a time to get to Sasuke faster. He reached his friend before they left the staircase, and Sasuke was indifferent to his arrival but acknowledged his presence. That did not stop Naruto from striking up a conversation, though.

"So, what do you think about Mimiri?" He asked.

"Who?" For a so called prodigy, he sure could be dense at times.

"Mimiri... the receptionist." Naruto was confused as to how Sasuke didn't know the girl's name. She had been working as the Hokage's receptionist for a while now, and she was quite talkative and friendly. Naruto, the chatterbox that he was, had held quite long conversations with her before, making him know her well. It surprised him that Sasuke wouldn't even know her name.

"That's her name? Hm." His response irked Naruto, but he decided to overlook it.

"Anyway, what d'ya think of her?"

"She seems... to not be _all _there."

"She was just preoccupied, but that's not what I'm asking about. She's kinda cute, don't ya think?" He stabbed Sasuke in the riba with his elbow to try and get a reaction. The Uchiha put a hand where he was hit and gave his former teammate a squinted-eye stare.

"Why are you asking me this?"

"Im just... looking out for you bro, y'know?"

"You're trying to play matchmaker for me?" He asked incredulously.

"Nah, man. I'm just trying to open your eyes a little. To possibilities. Opportunities."

"I don't need your help to find someone, Naruto. Besides, she's not my type." Now it was Naruto's turn to question his friend's words.

"How come?"

"She's a civilian, and not built like how I would like." Naruto slapped his forehead as if he had remembered something important.

"Oh yeah," He began, "I forgot you like muscular girls with chest hair and a pipe between their legs." Sasuke was visibly offended.

"W-well why don't you go after her?" Naruto scanned his head for an answer but couldn't find one that he knew Sasuke would accept. He knew the answer for himself, but he couldn't find out how to put the feeling into words. Mimiri was a nice girl, and a good-looker too, but he had no desire to persue her romantically.

"I'm good" He answered. Sasuke accepted the answer, probably because he didn't want to continue talking about the current subject, and because they were both about to enter the Hokage's office. Naruto took a handle and twisted it, and they both stepped inside and greeted their leader.

"Granny."

"Lady Hokage."

"Sasuke," She nodded to him then looked at the blonde, "Brat."

"Another successful mission for me, gran-gran. Though I can't say the same for him, given his track record."

"My mission was a success as well."

"Glad to hear it, boys. I'd like to have a report from each of you when you get the chance. Sasuke, I take it you want another mission?"

"If that's possible, Lady Hokage."

"It is, kept one open just for you. Here." She pulled back a drawer and grabbed a scroll inside. She tossed it to Sasuke, who stowed it away in his chest pouch and gave his thanks before leaving. Narutp watched him leave and gave a whistle of astonishment.

"Never takes a day off, does he?" Naruto asked Tsunade.

"The only days he takes off are the ones I make mandatory. He has a great work ethic, but at the rate he's going he'll run himself into the ground."

"Yeah, he's always away from home. Mikoto told me he's usually out the door before the sun's up." Tsunade's eyes widened in surprise.

"You've spoken to Mikoto?"

"Uh, yeah. Sasuke invited me to his house recently and I had a chance to meet her. Why are you surprised?"

"Mikoto has been sort of a recluse since the massacre. I'm probably the one who has spent the most time with her since, but even my time is limited, being the Hokage."

"She sure has kept to herself; Before I met her, I didn't even know what she looked like. I doubt anyone who hasn't met her prior knows either."

"It's quite sad. She used to be so outgoing and happy. Much more than the average Uchiha." Tsunade had a distant and melancholy look in her eyes, as if remembering the good days.

"I'm sure she'll perk up soon. Everybody has their dark days, but the sun rises for everyone. Anyway, Do I have any missions lined up?"

"No. There aren't any at the moment that require your... unique skill set. I'll be sure to call you down when one comes around. Alright?"

"Sounds good. See ya then, granny." He said and then went to open the door.

"Have a good one, Naruto." Tsunade said.

"I'll make sure to. I'm visiting a friend today." He had the door opened and was leaving when he said this. He softly closed the door and made his way back down the stairs. When he came to the bottom of the stairs, he was greeted with a similar situation to the one he had seen when he first entered the tower. Sasuke was back talking to Mimiri, only this time he actually seemed to be holding a conversation with her, rather than just reporting in. Naruto smiled, thinking that his words had reached the stubborn Uchiha. When Sasuke looked over and saw Naruto standing at the bottom of the staircase, he ended the conversation with Mimiri abruptly but still said his thanks. When Naruto came up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, he had a Cheshire grin until they left the tower.

"So, still not your type, Sasuke?"

"She..." He searched his mind for the words, "She's nice."

"What does that mean?" Could he be any more vague?

"Exactly what it means, idiot. She's nice."

"I'm... not sure where to go from here."

"Home is a good start."

"Good idea, I need to get out of this desert gear before the sand scrapes away my skin. You stopping at your own house before you skip town?"

"Yeah, but only for a moment, I need to grab supplies."

"Whelp, see you when you get back from your mission then. See ya." Naruto gave a pat on the back to his friend.

"'Till then." Sasuke gave a lazy wave and the two went on their separate ways. Naruto, not wanting to walk in his sand gear any longer than he had to, decided to teleport straight to his home to clean up. He stepped into the bathroom and began unwrapping the cloth that sealed his clothing tight. With every twirl that made the wrap loosen, sand fell to the floor and made a light tinkling sound. By the last wrap, Naruto had a sizable pile on the floor that was beginning to spread out and settle. His boots carried even more sand, and when he turned them upside down, a long, steady stream of grains flowed out and onto the floor.

"Making a damn sand castle in my bathroom. Should've done this outside." When he finished removing all of his sand covered clothes, he looked at the large pile on his floor in annoyance, and then, with a quick swipe of his hand, he used wind chakra to carry the sand up and out the small window in his bathroom. He didn't care where it went, as long as it left his house. After it was gone he hopped into the shower and cleaned himself off, making all the sand that still managed to stay on his body wash away. By the time he finished his shower, dried, and dressed, he had formulated an activity to do with Mikoto. One that he hoped would be memorable and fun for the both of them. With that idea bouncing around in his head he made his way to the Uchiha district, where his new friend waited for his return.

The Uchiha district was not any less ominous than the first time he visited. At least, the unoccupied buildings had not became any more inviting. The house that sheltered the last remaining Uchihas on the other hand was a well kept beacon of light in the otherwise gloomy neighborhood. Naruto could practically feel the warmth of the house when his fist hit the front door. A short moment after, the door opened and a smiling woman stood at the threshold.

"Hey Mikoto, is Sasuke here?" He knew that his walk over gave Sasuke plenty of time to collect his necessary gear and leave for his mission, but just in case he asked. He didn't want his friend to get suspicious of his actions.

"He left about fifteen minutes ago. It's just you and me now." If it were under different circumstances, that sentence would have carried a much different meaning, but those circumstances were not met. Yet.

"Great. Can I come in? I have some things to talk about." Mikoto backed up and out of the door frame and gestured for him to come inside. He did, and they found themselves sitting on the couch. The woman was looking intensely at Naruto, waiting for him to speak. She had no idea what he was going to say, so she did not want to miss a word. The enthusiasm she displayed with her eyes alone slightly unnerved the man, and there was an awkward period of time between him sitting on the couch and when he began to speak. He tried to formulate the monologue in his head to be as understandable as possible. After he did, he spoke to her.

"I'm free for the rest of today, but as I said before, there will be days--weeks even--when I won't be around to spend time with you. I have an idea though. The days I am available we can do really fun things together, so the time in between isn't so unbearable for you."

"What kinds of activities?"

"All sorts really. Experiencing new things, doing unique things, anything that we think would be fun to do. All to enjoy ourselves enough to keep us happy through the downtime. What do ya say? Is that something you'd want to do?"

"That sounds great, but aren't we limited to doing things in private? I don't like the attention I get at crowded places in general, and I don't think being seen spending time with someone else's mother is especially good for your well-being. Especially if news made it to Sasuke."

"You're right. I hadn't thought about that..." He mulled it over before an idea came to his head. "Why don't we just use the transformation jutsu to disguise us? We'd be free to do anything in the village if we looked like forgettable civilians.

"I think that just might work. Now that we don't have to worry about what we can and can't do, what did you have planned for tonight?"

"I thought I could take you to the movies, and after that we can get something to eat. Are you game?" It did not take long for her to answer.

"I haven't seen a movie in a long while. It should be fun."

"Great!" He stood up from the couch and offered his hand to help her up. "Let's see how this goes."

"Not so fast, mister" she said, amused at his enthusiasm, "We still have to transform into our disguises."

"Right. Almost forgot." He weaved his fingers together to form the correct hand sign, with Mikoto copying his maneuvers. Together they both finished their techniques and created a decent plume of smoke that encompassed both of their forms. The white smokescreen soon dissipated into thin wisps and then disappeared entirely, revealing two new, completely unrecognizable people. Each person looked at the other, judging the effectiveness of their technique. Naruto lost his whisker marks, looked to be middle-aged, and possessed brown hair and eyes. Mikoto's transformation was just as disguising as Naruto's. Her distinct jet black hair was replaced with long strands of light brown, and her pale skin was darkened a few shades. Her age stayed similar to her own, but she looked nothing like her actual appearance. They both wore dull, civilian clothing to not draw attention onto themselves. Together the two made an inconspicuous duo, and both were confident that their true identities were properly hidden.

"Looking good!" Naruto joked.

"You too. Are we ready?"

"I am if you are" He said and offered the woman his arm. She snaked her own arm around his and the two exited the house and began their night on the town. Their first of many, as it would come to be.

Their excursion to the movie theater was one that went as smooth as it possibly could. The disguises worked flawlessly, with no one at the theater paying any attention to the couple. It also helped that they bought tickets to a screening of an older movie. It was a block buster when it first was released, but it had ample time to stagnate, and it was no longer drawing in crowds of viewers. They did not choose to see it because of this reason, but because Mikoto and Naruto had never seen it before. They were surprised and inwardly relieved when they saw how little an amount of viewers were actually going to be watching the movie with them. Even though Mikoto was confident they would not be bothered by people, no matter how many, she still felt more comfortable with fewer people. They sat near the back of the room, where the density of people was at its lowest. Both were glad that they had the opportunity to sit practically wherever they wanted. Mikoto because she liked her privacy, and Naruto because he liked sitting in an actual theater seat. Most times when he had gone to movies, the place was so packed he had to watch the movie upside down, hanging from the ceiling.

The two liked the movie enough to stay through its entirety, but Naruto's comedic sideline commentary made it even more enjoyable. He would sneak in jokes about the movie whenever he could, and when it was timed well, he had Mikoto in stitches. After they left the theater, the two headed to Naruto's go to ramen spot. The ramen lover couldn't be too enthusiastic though, as he was sure to get recognized there just by his demeanor. He doubted that it would matter if they found out, but loose lips sink ships, and Ayame was a gossip dispensary. They ate quietly there, only talking amongst themselves, until they offered their thanks and left for Mikoto's house.

Their walk back was an enjoyable one. The moon and periodic streetlight illuminated their path, and passerbys must have contracted their good mood as everyone on a late night stroll greeted them kindly. The occasional streetlight soon became non-existent when they approached the Uchiha grounds, and now the only thing giving them light was that big rock in the sky. Naruto was nervous walking through the Uchiha compound alone in the_ daytime_, and he was sure that if he was alone right now, he would be shaking in his boots. Having Mikoto accompany him through the deserted compound made him feel at ease. To him it seemed that a ghost town was scarier than actual ghosts.

Their night together had to end, as all nights do, and Naruto was once again standing outside of Mikoto's house, with that same person standing at the threshold. He had is arm leaning on the side of the door nearest the bug-swarmed porch light, saying his goodbyes to the woman.

"So, how do you think tonight went?" He asked.

"I had a great time. It was nice to finally go out to some place other than a bar."

"I'm glad. It was fun for me, too. Was it good enough to do something like this next time?"

"I'd love to."

"Fantastic. Thanks for letting me do this with you, Mikoto."

"I should be the one thanking you. Without your help, I would be sitting in my house alone."

"Well, I'd do anything to help a friend out." Mikoto smiled brightly and leaned in closer to Naruto. She raised her hand and curled her pointer finger three times in quick succession. Naruto, seeing this, leaned in also. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek, one that the blonde wasn't expecting. He jolted a little, and a hand came up to feel his cheek.

"I hope the next time will be even better. Good night, Naruto" She said with a giggle.

"G-good night, Mikoto" Naruto said, flustered. The door slowly closed, and Naruto stared at the door with his hand still feeling his cheek.

"Till next time!" He said jovially. He spun one hundred and eighty degreese on one foot and was about to begin his walk back, but after seeing the ominous darkness that awaited him, he decided to use teleportation instead. He didn't feel like fighting ghosts today.


	7. A Date with Destiny

I don't own Naruto. Also, this chapter contains mature material. wink wink.

Mikoto and Naruto's first excursion was such a smashing success that the two soon went on their second, and then third. The weeks rolled by and the two spent time with one another at least once a week. They had kept going out into the village, experiencing life and making memories that both would look back fondly upon. They would meet together whenever Sasuke was out of the village and Naruto was not on a mission. They had it down to a science, often meeting each other already in their disguises that had become as familiar as their actual appearance over the months. They had become comfortable in their fake personas, and played the parts of a loving couple as good as the highest paid actors. Neither knew it, or would admit it, but they weren't exactly acting. The idea was spurred on by the amount of comments the two would get at restaurants by the staff. The first time a waiter suggested the two were in a relationship, Naruto tripped over his words while trying to make an excuse as to why they were together, but he soon found himself smiling, nodding, and playing the part that he was given. Mikoto also became comfortable with the front, enough to hold his hand when they walked the busy Konoha streets.

Tonight was scheduled to be another one of their nights together, but it was not going to be an ordinary one. Mikoto's birthday was coming up soon, something that Naruto had learned during his extensive time with her, and he wanted to surprise her with something extravagant and special. It just happened to be extremely expensive too, something that he lamented, but he reasoned with himself that it was not going to be a common thing. That, and his high ranking mission pay would foot the bill. He was going to take her to one of the highest quality restaurants in Konoha, and she was none the wiser to this. He hoped that she would enjoy it. Actually, he hoped both of them would enjoy it. He had never been to a place nearly as pricy as this one, and he wanted to get his money's worth.

He was walking casually to their rendezvous spot, transformation already concealing his true identity. His attire was not his usual though. It was formal; a black tuxedo with an equally black tie strangling his neck was what he wore. He wasn't technically wearing it, given that it was part of the transformation, but he still hated the concept of wearing something so _restraining_. He also stood out like a sore thumb at the location he was at, which was a simple grocery store on the outskirts of the market district. Mikoto was supposed to be waiting to meet him at a bench farther up the hill, and when he reached it he was waived down by the woman of the hour. She was happy to see him, but it was obvious that she was confused at his attire. He didn't have time to explain to her as to what they were going to do beforehand because it was spent getting a reservation, which was a tedious process that Naruto never wanted to experience again. Mikoto gave him a hug and asked him what the suit was about.

"It's for where we're going tonight. It's one of those five star places in the rich district."

"Really?" she asked, astonished at the prospect of them going to such an establishment. "Which one?"

"I got no clue how to pronounce the name, so I'll spare your ears and not butcher it, but I know what the front of the building looks like."

"What about my outfit?"

"Go for anything you'd like, as long as it's fancy enough to keep you from getting kicked out. Transformations give you a lot of artistic freedom."

"Then why did you go with black suit number one?" she joked about his generic yet respectable clothing.

"Would you rather it be a bright orange? Cus I can do that for you." He leaned against her.

"No thanks. Is it clear?" Naruto closed his eyes and focused in on the nature energy around him.

"No spying eyes here besides mine. Go ahead and show me what you have in mind." With the go ahead, Mikoto signed her way into the technique for the second time that day, and the iconic smokescreen puffed into existence. Naruto watched it dissipate in curiosity for what was hidden by it.

The bland civilian clothes that were staples of her disguise were replaced by a black, shoulderless dress that ended below her knees. It was eye catching, and the body wearing it filled it out very well. Which it should have, given that the whole thing was a specially engineered transformation jutsu. This fact didn't deter Naruto from being impressed, and his eyes lingered for a healthy amount.

"You look beautiful, perfect for where we're going."

"Thank you. I thought of what I used to wear back when Fugaku and I would go out to extravagant places." As she said this she inspected herself and nodded.

"Well if you looked remotely as good as you do now you must have had trouble dealing with all the men fawning over you." He gave a smile, one that she copied.

"Not exactly, Fugaku did a good job scaring them off."

"Geuss I'll have to do the same tonight, huh." He put his hand into his pocket and pointed his elbow towards Mikoto, who hooked her own arm through the hole he made. "Let's be off then. We have a whole night ahead of us."

"Let's make the most of it" she said. The two then took off for the restaurant, catching the looks of many people, both men and women, as they walked by. They did noy pay any mind to the observing eyes, they were too busy talking between themselves. Their conversation carried on throughout the entirety of their walk, which seemed like a quick one to them.

"This is it" Naruto said as they walked up to a glass door. He opened and held it for Mikoto, and he closed it slowly, making sure to not slam it shut. He really did not want to pay for a shattered door. He walked behind her by a few feet before closing the distance and meeting the staff member working the front desk.

"Good evening. Reservations?" He was a burly man with a handlebar mustache, which somehow made him look even more intimidating. Mikoto and Naruto both wondered if this guy was in the right place. An underground boxing ring seemed to suit him more than an eloquent establishment.

"Uh, yeah. Two under the name Narumi." The man put on a pair of ludicrously small, round glasses and flipped through a couple pages of the paper on his counter. His thick finger tapped on a specific area of the sheet and he smiled.

"Ah yes, right this way." He led them through the reception and into the dining area, where Naruto was impressed by the ornateness of it all. They were then seated at a booth, which was separated from the others with a meticulously trimmed bush.

"I will be back shortly with the menus." With that the hulking man left the two alone.

"So, Narumi, where'd you come up with that?"

"I combined our first names. I know it's not original, but I didn't have a whole lot of time to come up with a last name when making the reservation."

"Better than what I would've come up with."

"This place is really something else, huh. Have you ever been here before?"

"Not to this one in particular, but I've been to similar places. This one has impressed me the most, though. Are you sure you're okay with spending this much?"

"I'd pay more if it meant making you happy." Mikoto blushed.

"Thinking like that will leave you sleeping in the streets." She said with a smile. Naruto felt her foot brush up against his leg.

"You have expensive tastes, then?" As he said that the jolly giant returned to their table and set down two menus.

"Here are your menus. Any questions?"

"Yeah, I don't think I ever caught your name."

"Oh, my mistake. I am Biff."

"Biff? Is that like, a family name?"

"Oh yes. My father's name was Biff, and his father's too. Actually, all males in my family share the same name."

"That must cause a lot of confusion during the holidays." Naruto joked. Mikoto put a hand to her lips.

"It certainly does, but we honor the tradition that has been with us for as long as we can remember."

"What happens if you never get another boy in the family to name Biff?"

"If it's a girl she will be named Biffany. As all the other girls in our lineage have been named." Naruto was having trouble keeping a straight face.

"W-where are you from, Biff? Biffuania?"

"No. I'm from Kusa." It was a standard answer, but it was so far off from what Naruto expected that he could not keep his laughs in any longer. Mikoto also giggled, encouraged by Naruto. It was just a few chuckles, but Biff looked at the two without any humor. His head dropped and faced the floor, and Naruto got a little worried.

"Biff?" He asked, concerned. Biffs head quickly shot up and his face had noticably changed. His soft eyes became harsh, and they seemed to glow with energy. His handlebar mustache also had grown, making the two curls reach all the way up to his eyebrows.

"Is it something we said?" Biff's hairy arm shot out in a direction.

"Go" he said, and the two felt inclined to do so. They made their way back to where they entered from, and as they made their way to the door, an older lady, hunched over from her years of living, spoke to the two with an understanding tone.

"Biff gets awfully protective of his family's tradition, but that's why he works here." Naruto was able to see her nametag, which said her name was Biffany.

"Family owned, yeah?" A nod was all he got and needed. He reallly needed to get away. His sanity was slipping. "Have a good night!" He exited the restaurant with Mikoto right behind him. He took a look at Mikoto, who looked more confused than a crayon-eating toddler on his sixth pack.

"What just happened?"

"I'm not quite sure myself. I think we got kicked out, but I do know one thing. We still need to get something to eat, and I know exactly where to go."

"That's two things, but I'm with you."

"To ramen!" Naruto yelled like a crusader charging into battle.

"This night just keeps getting weirder." She was being pulled along by Naruto like how a large dog pulls against its leash. Naruto's eagerness to reach his favorite meal led them to arrive at Ichiraku's quickly, but his enthusiasm instantly dissipated when he saw the stand shut down for the night. He grabbed both sides of his face in horror.

"That's right! The old man said he would be closing early today! How could I forget?" He sank to the ground in despair.

"Well, what are we going to do now?" Mikoto asked, and Naruto got back onto his feet with a jump.

"I was planning on eating here then showing you a pretty good view, but now I think we can do the old-fashioned thing and have a picnic. Pick up some things on our way there. What d'ya think?"

"Fine with me. Where are we going?"

"Oh, you're gonna love it when you see it. The view's great." Naruto said as they started walking. He continued his conversation with Mikoto throughout their walk, but kept himself from directly saying where they were going. He just gave her enticing details that provoked anticipation in the Uchiha. When they entered the same small grocery store that was near their rendezvous zone, their conversation had already drifted into a new subject entirely. They stood side by side as they glanced through the wall of wine in the store. Naruto had no clue what he was looking for because he was never one for wine, and he hoped that Mikoto could bail him out. She did, and she pulled out a dark bottle with a gold label and matching cork. She presented her choice to her companion, who dumbly nodded.

"An extravagant night tonight, you two?" The clerk asked, commenting on their appearances. They both smiled.

"It hasn't gone exactly as planned, but we're working with what we got." Naruto said with a hand behind his head.

"I've enjoyed my time so far. It can only get better from here" Mikoto answered as the cashier placed the wine bottle into a plastic bag along with a stack of red plastic cups.

"Well have a good one you two" He nodded with a smile while extending the bag towards Naruto's hands.

"Thank you. Goodnight." They both said as Naruto opened the door. The moon was fully shining as they made their way to Naruto's spot. Their path was flanked on either side by dense forest, and the creatures of the night sang through the branches. The path then cleared up into a wide open field, with a sudden drop at the other end. They walked to edge of the cliff and Mikoto realised thay they were above the Hokage monument. She could see every light from the village sparkle like grounded stars.

"It really is beautiful," she commented while her head panned across the village below. She found the Uchiha district easily, but that was because it had no light pollution. Seeing its darkness gave her a bittersweet smile.

"I knew you'd like it. Why don't you take a seat?" Naruto said as he sat down and threw his legs over the side of the cliff. He patted the ground to his right and began digging through the contents of his plastic bag. Mikoto joined him down on the stone and was given a cup of alcohol. The both gave a testing sip from their respective cups. Naruto's mouth puckered slightly, tasting his first sip of wine ever. Mikoto looked at him, amused at they way his face contorted into a myriad of states. After he got over the first sip, he sighed and looked into his cup.

"Sorry about getting us kicked out of that restaurant." Mikoto had not even thought about that. She had been preoccupied with having fun walking the streets with the blonde.

"Oh no, its fine."

"Is it though? Your birthday is coming up soon, and I kinda ruined a potentially amazing experience."

"No way," she said to correct him, "What we're doing right now is an experience that I would rather have. I've been to plenty of fancy places, and they're all the same. I've never done something like this, and I can say that this experience is certainly a better one than what you get from those places."

"Really?"

"Yeah! This is already one of the most memorable birthday celebrations I've had." Naruto's mouth curled up into a smile, and his previously down mood did a complete 180.

"Well I'm glad I could give this to you." He said and took another drink. His face twisted back into the one he made at the first drink. He did not really like the experience, but he found himself wanting to take another sip. Just to see if it would be any different.

"So, when's the last time you drank wine out of a Solo cup?" Naruto asked with his legs kicking over the ledge of a triangular stone protrusion. Mikoto sipped out of her red cup, her shoulder against his and her own legs dangling over the cliff face. She tilted her head slightly and put a finger to her chin. Naruto stared at her pondering face that was no longer disguised. Since they were at such a remote part of the village, both of them had opted to see each others' true appearances. A decision both of them were happy to have made.

"I don't think I ever have" She answered and looked into his eyes. Her family status kept her free from all but the proper containers of alcohol, and the bars did not give out plastic either.

"There's a first to everything, I guess," Naruto raised his cup, "Cheers."

"Cheers." Mikoto clinked her cup against Naruto's. Except, it didn't make a clinking sound, more like the sound of cheap plastic flexing. They stared in each other's eyes as they drank. Black meeting blue in the soft moonlight. Naruto traced her face with his eyes and was astounded by her beauty. This was the first time he had seen her without a disguise during one of their outings, and he studied her perfect features in awe. His hand came up to brush a stray hair away from her face, and somehow he found his hand cupping her cheek. Her brow raised in surprise, and the blonde felt awkward in the silence.

"You are incredibly beautiful. Did you know that?" Naruto instantly felt the inside of his palm warm up, and he could feel his own face blush. The alcohol was giving him a little more confidence than what he usually had. Mikoto's face pushed into his hand.

"You're very handsome for a boy your age," Mikoto responded. Naruto's eyes slightly squinted and he leaned an unnoticeable amount closer to her already near face. Looking at her, his mind flipped through the all of the memories they had shared over the past three months. The two had an incredible amount of fun together, and Naruto could say for sure that he anticipated every one of their meetings with rabid excitement. Mikoto was a wonderful woman to be around, he had learned. Naruto may have started doing this for her out of empathy, but now he was doing it because he wanted to.

"Y'know," he began, causing the woman to focus, "I've really enjoyed all these outings we've done together. You are such an amazing person to be around, and I can't wait for when I can get back from missions and see you again. I've had some great times with you, and I um... can't wait to experience some more." His hand fell from her face and down into the space below their two bodies, onto the warm hand of Mikoto. He gave it a light squeeze before the black-haired-beauty motioned a "come closer" with her free hand. He leaned in and gave her his undivided attention.

"Why wait?" She asked coyly. Naruto had no time to ponder the meaning of her words before she took his mouth with her own. Naruto leaned into it without skipping a beat, and soon, the two were intensely exploring each other's mouths. Mikoto's hands snaked up into his hair, and Naruto slid out and away from the ledge, all the while maintaining the exhilarating contact. Naruto propped himself above Mikoto with his arms and legs on either side of her body. Their tongues swirled together as Mikoto palmed his hair and face. Naruto kept one arm securely planted on the ground and used his other to rub the outside of her leg. They stayed in that position until their lungs couldn't handle the lack of air any longer. Two heads backed away from each other reluctantly, and an Upside down arch of saliva stretched between their mouths. Their bodies shook like they had been shocked with each harsh intake of breath. Their chests raised and lowered like they had just finished a marathon. Their swollen lips pulsed as they held each other in an unending stare. The way Mikoto's pitch black eyes stared back at Naruto made him want to dive right back in. He would have, but a small wind blew in between the two, and Naruto felt a chill against his chest. He realized his jacket was opened, and that his mesh shirt was exposed. He gave Mikoto a hungry smile, one that was returned to him.

"Let's get out of the cold, yeah?" His answer was Mikoto raising the top half of her body to meet him again with a searing kiss. Balancing on one hand once more, Naruto signed and expelled some chakra before the entangled couple felt a tugging sensation. They were now in Naruto's living room, but the change in scenery did nothing to slow down their session. The teleportation did, however, change their position. Naruto was lying on his couch, with Mikoto lying flush on top of him. He guessed him being the jutsu caster and the seal being under the couch cushions oriented them this way. He welcomed the change though, and feverishly devoured Mikoto's mouth while shimmying off his now too hot jacket. Their new position now had the two pressed tightly against one another, and in their lust, they thrusted their hips towards each other. Naruto's clothed erection dug in against the denim of Mikoto's jeans. Both moaned from the sudden stimulation.

They continued kissing and grinding until Mikoto broke the contact between their lips to tear off Naruto's mesh shirt. She sat straight up and threw it off to the side, and before it hit the ground, Naruto was beginning to tug at the bottom button of Mikoto's blouse. He could not get it through the slit with the gyrating that Mikoto was doing over his throbbing albeit still covered unit. With annoyance, he instead grabbed one side of each with his hands and opened the shirt, causing all of the buttons to fly loose from their stitches. The opening of the blouse was kind of like how superheroes quickly change from their disguises, except instead of a Superman logo being exposed, Mikoto's large, black-lace-covered-breasts were. It was an unbelievably sexy look to Naruto, whose eyes were captivated by the breasts' movements as his lover rubbed back and forth over the length of his member. Naruto snaked his hands up to just below her bra, and Mikoto's top half swayed like a sultry dancer. He watched her movements with undivided attention. She suddenly stopped, and Naruto gave a quick but worried glance up to her eyes. She did not have a shade of regret in her eyes, and when their gazes locked, the black haired beauty spoke up and raised herself off of him just a few inches.

"I need you right now." She said quietly, but to Naruto the demand was a confident and powerful one. Naruto swallowed, enamored by the seductive woman on top of him.

"Right now. I've been waiting for this for a while!" she said as she fiddled with his belt buckle. It was hard for her to do as his waist was behind her back, and she was reaching down through her legs.

"H-here. I got it." Naruto offered. It took him a few seconds before it was undone. As soon as it was, he pulled them down as far as he could without having to get the Uchiha off of him. His boxers were doing a poor job at concealing his massive erection, but so would anything that he wears.

Mikoto looked down and behind her with an intense hunger, and her legs were shaking in her squatting position. She tucked a finger underneath the hem of his boxer shorts and pulled down, causing Naruto to have a sharp intake of breath when his rock hard piece was exposed to the air. Mikoto gave his penis a look that filled his chest with pride. She was not able to contain her excitement and gasped. Naruto now noticed the wetness that soaked through her jeans; his pants, he was sure, also were damp. She then grabbed the hem of her own pants and pulled them down just barely enough to expose her sex. She obviously wanted to feel her lover as soon as possible.

She reached behind herself and grabbed Naruto's meaty pole, who hissed in ecstasy at the feeling. She guided it straight to her dripping lips, and rubbed it against them and around the area, coating Naruto with her arousal. After an unbearable but short time of teasing, the matriarch lined up the obscene stick with her sopping center and plunged down onto it, impaling herself in euphoria. When she bottomed out, a guttural scream escaped her throat.

"Ffffuck yes!" she said facing the ceiling. Naruto himself was also lost in pleasure, enveloped by an indescribable warmth and tightness. When Mikoto raised her hips up from his own, Naruto let out a moan, only for the milf to slam right back down and send a thunderbolt of pleasure through the both of them. This happened repeatedly, with each time the process getting faster until Mikoto was in a constant state of bouncing on his cock. Her mouth stayed opened wide, shouting out and moaning everytime his member stretched her insides. Naruto was not quiet either, as the heaven this woman was giving him was too good to shut up about. Their bodies also made a cacophony of sex. The meeting of their hips caused a large slapping sound to echo through the room, and Mikoto's only increasing arousal gushed around his stiff rod.

"Shit, Mikoto, you're amazing!" Everytime Mikoto would raise herself from his groin, he would thrust foward in an attempt to stay in her warmth. This made it so they would collide with extra force, sending his pipe deeper into her snatch. Both of them writhed in pleasure when this happened. They had the timing perfectly synchronized, and whenever they collided their brains were flooded with pleasure. They wished they could have felt this forever, but even shinobi have their limits, and the two were no different.

"You are amazing too baby. Fu-Fuck! You're about to make me come!" The Uchiha said and stabilized herself with both hands placed on Naruto's abs. Her declaration only made Naruto try harder, and he went into overdrive. His dick slid back and forth through her core like a piston, reaching places that sent volts down his lover's spine. He continued to pound upwards into her, feeling pressure build up inside of him.

"Where do you want it?"

"I-I want it inside. Please!" Their thrusts got into an odd tempo, but they still vigorously made love. They were no longer synchronized in their movements, but they compensated that with thrusts twice as strong. Their moans got louder and their cussing more frequent. Both were trying their hardest to send themselves and each other over the edge.

"Alright. I-I'm coming!" Naruto said with one last thrust. He put his hands around the woman's thin waist and pushed her down towards him, trying as hard as he could to go as deep as possible. Mikoto's back arched, and her toes curled until the joints went white.

"Fuck!" They said together. Naruto's member exploded, sending thick ropes of semen into Mikoto's thirsty core. His dick flexed with each spurt, and Mikoto's mind-numbing orgasm caused her inner walls to tighten and try their best to milk the object inside of her. They sat shaking together until a short while after their orgasms had subsided. Their breathing was labored, and sweat covered every square inch of their skin. They held each other's gaze once again, and they both leaned in for another melting kiss. This one filled with less lust than those previous, but the same amount of passion.

Their kiss broke, and the beautiful woman above Naruto collapsed onto his chest, her head landing right on his collar bone. She sighed contently as her body settled from the movement. Naruto, whose body was taught and still in an upward thrust, also relaxed. His legs slid against the cushions until they were fully outstretched, and this movement freed himself from the warm sleeve that was caressing him. Mikoto gave a mixture between a moan and whimper at this event, and she could feel streams of excess semen leak out of her and run down. She kept her head on his chest, hearing his loud heartbeat slowly settling down.

They lay together in silence for a moment of time that neither of them could fathom. Each one was completely enraptured by the other. Mikoto had her eyes closed, her head bobbing up and down with each inhale and exhale. The blonde stared through the ceiling, relishing the warmness he could outline on his body. He started rubbing his hand back and forth across the small of her back, but he did it absentmindedly and infrequently. The two spent lovers were winding down from the bliss they had just experienced. During this time, the blonde pulled up the Uchiha's panties and jeans to cover her modesty while also putting his schlong in his boxers. Eventually, Naruto's eyes also closed, and before long, both of the half-naked people were in a deep sleep.


	8. Dirty Laundry

I don't own Naruto

Blue eyes slowly opened to take in the soft yellow light that illuminated the room. Nothing had caused the blonde haired boy to awake, but he found himself conscious, blinking away the blurriness of sleep from his eyes. His head was laid flat on the cushion of his couch, and the first thing his cleaned eyes focused on was his ceiling fan. Its two light bulbs were still burning brightly; its fans still chopped the air that got caught in their range. He had forgot to turn them off before he fell asleep. Or rather, he was too occupied with the woman who was now resting on top of him to have done anything.

Speaking of the woman, when Naruto looked down at her sleeping form, his heart skipped and warmed. All he could see was the top of her head and the hairs that snaked out from it, and he stared down in mild disbelief. He never thought he would have gotten to this point with her again. It was not his initial intention, but after the months with her passed, he found himself longing to pursue her romantically. He had been biding his time over the recent weeks, trying to build up the courage to actually try his luck. That courage reached its boiling point last night, and with the help of wine, Naruto exposed his heart to Mikoto. Her reaction was completely unexpected, but he was ecstatic that it happened. He had the woman he had fallen for on his chest after a vigorous love-making session. What could be better? He revealed a huge grin then kissed the top of her head. The action caused her to stir, and when she lifted her head to face him, Naruto was there to greet her.

"Hey beautiful," He said with a light yet infectious smile. Mikoto, still dreary from sleep, moved her body up along his, tilting her head forward to bring them into a kiss. It was a short kiss filled with a lot of emotion. When she lifted her head away, her face was sporting the same smile.

"Hi."

"Sleep well?" Mikoto paused to think of how she felt. A finger idly tapped at her lips as she formulated the words in her head.

"I did, but it doesn't feel like we've been asleep very long." Naruto nodded. His eyes were warm and heavy; they stayed closed longer than average whenever he blinked.

"Yeah, I feel the same way. Lemme check." The blonde sat up, causing the Uchiha on his torso to move to one side of the couch as to let him get out from underneath her. He rotated his body to put both of his feet on the ground below. The soft, thick carpet was dug into by his bare feet. He raised from the couch and took one step towards the kitchen before his surroundings became a blur. The walls flew past him as he plummeted down to the floor. He put his hands out to break his fall, and thankfully it worked. On the less than fresh smelling carpet, he heard Mikoto giggle lightly. He looked back at her and saw her finger pointing towards his legs. Taking a glance at them, he saw them tangled in the jeans around his ankles.

"I forgot about that." he said while getting to his feet. He pulled up his pants and covered himself in one fluid motion. With that debacle out of the way, he continued on his way to the kitchen, where he looked at the time displayed on the microwave. This appliance was the only one in his house that showed the time besides his alarm clock, which was in his bedroom. Upon reading the digital clock, he gave a surprised hum.

"It's three in the morning," he said while returning to the couch. As he walked there, he inspected his window and the lack of light emitting from it. That confirmed his kitchen clock. He then turned his head to see Mikoto sitting up and took in her appearance again. The blouse that he had torn apart was doing a poor job at covering anything, and he noticed the damp spot on her jeans once again. Her dark locks were twisted, folded, and standing on end. He could tell that he was not in a better state. They both looked like the definitive example of sex.

"Hey, Mikoto. How about we get our clothes and ourselves cleaned up before we go back to bed? And this time we can be in an actual bed."

"I'd like that." She stretched with her arms high in the air.

"Yeah? Here, let me show you to the bathroom." Mikoto was assisted off from the couch and was led across the room. Naruto stopped next to the wooden door, opened it, and gestured at the shower inside. The woman walked through the doorway, and the man stuck his head through. When she turned around, she had a shine in her eyes.

"Would you like to join me?" She asked. Naruto gave a short chuckle but shook his head.

"As much as I want to, I need to get going on the laundry. So, if you would." He titlted his hand to have his palm facing the ceiling.

"Alright." She humphed, defeated. She stepped into the shower and before long, clothes were flying over the shower rail and into the waiting arms of Naruto. When the clothes stopped flying, he was carrying a full outfit.

"Thanks. I'll get right to it then." As he said this, water started to come out of the showerhead. A startled yip escaped the shower, and Naruto chuckled again.

"The water takes a while to heat up here. Sorry, shoulda warned ya."

He headed back out into the main room with the stack of clothes still in his hands. The pile was set on the floor before the blonde fell back onto couch. From the new position, he tugged at the white fabric that was Mikoto's blouse and pulled it out from the bundle of clothing. He set it aside and grabbed the other clothes, taking them with him out of his front door.

Naruto's apartment did not have space for a washer or dryer, but the complex did offer a laundry room at the bottom floor. The blonde doubted that anyone was going to be down there at three in the morning, so he made no effort to hide Mikoto's clothes. Even if someone was miraculously using the machines at the same time as him, he doubted anything would come of it. His neighbors, however few of them there were, did not belong to the type of people that butt into others' businesses. It was a perk of living in the run down part of the village. People don't know nothing and don't see nothing. It was safe that way.

He descended down the exterior stairs, feeling the cool night air against his exposed torso. When he got to the door to the laundry room, he twisted the knob and was relieved to find it unlocked. He walked to the first washing unit and threw the clothes in. He looked around the room to check for anyone else. Seeing no one, he quickly pulled off his pants and threw them in too. Detergent was splashed in, and the door shut with a satisfying click. Naruto idly stared at the washer for a moment, but decided that he had better things to do.

He returned to his apartment and dug through a drawer in the kitchen before producing a spindle of string with a needle already attached. With it in his hand, he slowly paced around the living room, scanning the floor. Periodically, he would pick up a small round button from the floor. His search got harder with each button he found, but he was determined to find all of them. He had searched the entire floor looking for the last missing button, but came up empty. Until he lifted up the couch cushions. Not only did he find the button, but he also found an instant ramen flavoring packet. He kept that for later. You never know when you willll get a defective ramen carton without any seasoning, he reasoned. After he put the cushions back into place, he sat back down near the blouse and began his handiwork. He had learned how to sew when he was younger, and had finally found a way to use his skill. The needle slid through the fabric like a hot knife through butter, bringing the string sailing along with it. He pulled it tight, and the crisscross of string secured one button to the blouse. He tied it off and nodded at his craftsmanship. The process was repeated until the last button was fastened.

He held the blouse up high, looking for any more imperfections while also appreciating his work. While he scrutinized it, the door to the bathroom opened and let some steam float through the threshold. Naruto turned his head and saw the freshly cleaned woman in nothing but a towel. She was using a second, smaller towel to dry off her hair.

"Hey," he showed her the blouse, "I fixed your shirt."

She came closer and saw that what he said was true. She smiled and leaned down to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you."

"No problem. I'm gonna go check on the clothes. They're probably ready to be dried."

"In your boxers?"

"Eh. No one's gonna be out there. I won't be there long either." He stood up and made his way to the door. His second trip to the laundry room was similar to the first, with nothing out of the ordinary happening. The washer had stopped its cycle some time while he was upstairs, so he transferred the clothes to the dryer and started its cycle. He made his way once again to his apartment, where Mikoto was waiting for him. As soon as he entered his home, he was asked a question by the woman clutching the towel that clung to her torso.

"Naruto, is there anything that I can wear while we wait? This towel's soaked, and its getting kind of cold."

"Oh. Yeah, sorry," he replied and jogged to the dresser near his bed. he opened up a few drawers and shuffled through their contents. He returned to the woman with a white shirt and a pair of shorts.

"Will these work?" he asked. She took them and nodded.

"They'll be fine. Thank you."

"Great." He pointed his thumb at the bathroom. "I'll be taking a shower now."

"OK... How long before the clothes are done?" Naruto paused, trying to come up with the answer.

"There's more clothes than what I usually use, so I'd leave them in for longer..." A yawn tore through his face, "I'm just gonna leave them in there till morning. Is that alright with you?"

Mikoto nodded while she yawned.

"Alright, be done soon." He said and closed the bathroom door, separating the two lovers momentarily. He turned on the water and felt it hit his outstretched hand. It got hot quickly, already warmed up from its previous use. He stepped in and felt the water soak his hair and run down his back. Usually a shower would wake him up, but the warm water comforted him into a relaxed state. After washing himself, the blonde turned off the water and grabbed a towel out of the small linen closet inside of the bathroom. He dried himself off quickly to get dressed in just his boxers.

In a similar fashion to how Mikoto exited the bathroom, Naruto also allowed steam to escape from the room. Unlike the Uchiha, he was not in just a towel. He was not any more clothed though with just his boxers covering him. In his absence, the woman dressed in the clothes he supplied and put the wet towel at the foot of the bathroom door. He picked up the towel and tossed it behind him before walking up to her. She was dozing off sitting on the couch, staring with half-lidded eyes. He rubbed his own eyes as he spoke to her.

"Man I'm tired. Are you ready for bed?"

"Definitely. I want to sleep in." The two walked together to Naruto's bed. It was a twin size mattress, and Mikoto was the first one to crawl inside. The Uzumaki slid in after her and immediately wrapped an arm around her form. They laid on their sides, taking in each other's warmth. The room was completely silent, spare the sound of air circulating through their lungs. It gave both of them the ability to think clearly, even with drowsiness weighing down their minds. In this clearness, the blonde remembered something that interested him just hours ago, before they fell asleep.

"Hey, Mikoto," he started in a soft voice, "What does this make us?"

It was a short sentence yet it carried more weight to the two of them than any other. The two had willingly crossed a boundary that irreversibly changed their dynamic. The question was: what do they do now? The woman centered in the question took a short while to answer, but she eventually responded.

"Whatever you want it to." It was said fast, as if it was being swept under the rug, out of sight.

"Whatever I want it to?" Naruto's head, which was already close to the woman's, raised up to look over her. His breath tickled the side of her neck, causing her muscles to tighten. His warm exhales traveled along her pale neck only to stop and blow down onto her small ear. She could tell by the noise and heat that he was almost touching the side of her head with his own. Mikoto's breath hitched when his mouth enveloped her earlobe. He gave it a tug with his teeth, but did not stay there long. A small moan came from her when he released her ear and kissed his way down her neck. When he got to the crook of her neck, he pulled away from her while laughing through his nose. Mikoto, flustered from the ordeal, turned her head to look up at his smiling face.

"That's a rather inviting answer, Miko. Not the right one, though. I want to know what _you_ want this to be." In the near pitch black room, the two stared in the orbs of each other. Not a word was spoken, but Naruto could see the thoughts flying around in the eyes of the one below him. With each passing second, Naruto could see each thought that went through the woman's head change her mood for the worse. He himself became worried a small amount. The intimate contact they were enjoying was broken with the women turning away from him dejectedly.

"What I want this to be," her words were barely audible, "isn't possible."

Naruto's brows furrowed and his head tilted. He grabbed the top of her shoulder to tilt her body back towards him. He wanted to face her again, but her sight stayed glued to emptiness of the room around them. Even though she was looking elsewhere, Naruto knew that she was listening.

"What d'you mean? Nothing's impossible. Whatever you need, I'm sure I can make it work." Mikoto's charcoal eyes met again with the loving blue ones that the blonde called his own.

"I want... I want to be a family again." Naruto's face contorted in surprise and confusion. He never expected her to say something along those lines. The Uchiha continued to elaborate.

"I want to wake up in a room shared with my lover," her hand lightly stroked Naruto's draped over arm, "I want my son to be a happy man, not the lonely workaholic that he has become. I want him to love life and be comfortable enough to confide in me and others. He carries his burdens alone, but doesn't he know that I am here for him? I need him to trust me again... I want to wake up every day and enjoy life. All of us, like how it used to be. I know that you were never a part of what it was back then, but you are now." A smile was on her face, but tears welled in her eyes. Naruto stared at her in mild astonishment as he took in her words. She missed the way things were, the existence that was stripped away from her all those years ago. Naruto could understand her longing for what was. He could not relate directly, but he reached out for any semblance of family every chance he got. He wanted a family just as much as the Uchiha beside him. He had also forgotten about Sasuke, forgotten about setting him right. His friend was an integral part in his original plan to help Mikoto. Now that he was reminded, he steeled himself and made it a priority to help the lonely man.

"Mikoto, I promise that I will make it happen." She shook her head and the tears that were held in her eyes began to flow freely.

"But you can't... You can't throw your life away for me. You have so much more ahead of you. I don't want to take away your life for my selfishness." Naruto shook his head after each of her sentences. He found himself disagreeing with the woman for once.

"You're not taking anything from me! I _want _to do this, because..."

His mind trailed back into the past, to all the time they had shared together. All of the laughs, the good times, the experiences. He wanted to continue to have them. With her.

"... Because I love you! It's not a waste of my life to be with the one I love!" Onyx eyes widened in the dark room, and the rest of the woman's face was taught and still, displaying the upmost surprise.

"Say... say that again." Her voice was seasoned with disbelief.

"I love y-!" The man was not able to finish his sentence as lips collided with his own. Mikoto wrapped her arms around his head and dragged him down. Their kiss lasted for a time neither of them cared to measure. When they pulled away, the woman spoke first.

"I love you too." The widest smile split the blonde's face in two. The woman's face sported a smile just as happy. Naruto fell onto his side, and once again put an arm over his lover's form. This time, his embrace was tighter. Mikoto did not mind in the slightest. No words were spoken for a few moments, but the two communicated through their embrace. After a short while, Naruto spoke again in a whisper. The quiet voice was void of any trepidation, only confidence and determination.

"I'm going to do it all. For you. That's a promise of a lifetime." He felt small fingers interlace with his own. A gentle squeeze came after.

"You don't know how much this means to me."

"If it's anything like how much it means to me, I have an idea. Now, since that's squared away, lets get some sleep, yeah?"

"Mhmm." The pair closed their eyes and fell asleep to the rhythm of full, beating hearts.


	9. Breakfast in Bed

FAIR WARNING: It gets real graphic real quick. Hold on to ya swim trunks.

A breathy yawn tore through the now disturbed silence of the dim room. Its inhabitants slowly awakened to meet the day. Naruto grunted as his arms stretched out into the air and attempted to touch the far away ceiling. He hyperextended his elbows to drive away the stiffness that sleep allowed to seep into them. With his arms finished, he sat up, twisted his back, and gave a content sigh when he heard the satisfying cracks. Then he put his hand against his jaw and pushed his head up and to the side. Similarly to what happened with his back, quiet pops sounded. He switched the side of his jaw that was being pressed on and pushed again. After that, he rolled his neck and sighed while kicking away the blanket that enveloped his lower half. This routine was not something that he did often because it usually only needed to be done after he slept for a long time. His profession led him to be used to waking up early and not having to deal with an overly rested body. Though he was accustomed to sleeping less, he still enjoyed the chances he got to adjust his skeleton. Something felt great about sleeping so much that you had to fix yourself.

The actions quickly woke up his bedmate, who was a light sleeper as it was. She also stretched and twisted to help herself wake up, but it was nowhere near as extreme as what the blonde had done. She arched her back and sprawled out onto the bed. The black-hair-covered head came to rest right on top of Naruto's thigh and he smirked. His hand traveled to it and he wove his fingers through her dark locks. His fingers stroked her scalp, and she tilted her head up to look into his sky blue eyes. The man could see the bright smile that adorned her upside down face. He leaned over to give her a kiss. It was kind of awkward to do with one of them being upside down, but neither complained or cared for that matter. He withdrew from the exchange and returned to softly scratching her head. She hummed with approval as his digits massaged her scalp.

"Good morning, Love." Naruto had never said that before, but he did not regret letting the word pass. The way Mikoto's mouth stretched upon hearing his words let him know that she was also glad he said it.

"Good morning!" She beamed. She rolled her body off of her back and onto her belly, which caused her form to nestle in between the blonde's legs. Now she could look at the man without having to strain her neck. She dug her elbows and forearms into the bed underneath her and propped herself up. Her eyes were wide and lively like a puppy's, and her yoga-like position only increased how cute she appeared in the moment to Naruto. He gave a chuckle.

"You're in a great mood, huh!"

"How could I not be?" She gave a full toothed grin, and Naruto was sure that he was the first person in existence to see an Uchiha smile like that, "Things are on the up and up!"

"Well I'm glad you are because that smile looks gorgeous on you." If it was possible, the raven haired beauty's mouth would have stretched in joy even farther. She raised off her elbows and instead pushed up from the bed with the palms of her hands. She was basically in the apex of a push-up. This new position allowed her to lean in close to her lover's face, where their foreheads touched.

"And it's all because of you" she said gratefully. She leaned in more to bring their lips together. It started out like the one that they had shared moments ago, but it soon shifted into much more passionate actions. Naruto's tongue pressed against her lips, and she opened them in response. His wet muscle quickly found her own, and the two tongues danced together. Shivers ran down both participants' backs. Their faces were practically glued together, and they used the connection to thoroughly explore each others' mouths. When they finally did break away from each other, both of their faces were prominently flushed. The two were also in a similar state to each other with their eyes. Their half-lidded orbs stared into each other for a moment before Naruto's drifted down to look at his woman's swollen and wet lips. Because of the angling of her body, the blonde's sight was easily able to drift from her mouth and down to her chest, which they did.

Mikoto's shirt, which was actually Naruto's, was far too big for her feminine physique, and the piece of clothing drooped to the point of offering a clear as day view of her breasts for all to see. Luckily, the Uzumaki was the only person there to witness the spectacle. His eyes locked onto the mounds as soon as his male brain recognized what they were. He scrutinized them more than any mission report he had ever read, which is not saying much, but this boy was dedicated to getting an eyeful. This was the first time he had seen them without an inch of fabric covering them, so needless to say, he was in awe. They were big although not outrageous in any sense, and they were perfectly perky. Her pink nipples were hard like pebbles, and they were cutely encircled by her equally pink areolas. If Naruto was to be asked, he would certainly call himself an ass man. However, that did not stop the tantalizing breasts from arousing him. His entire observation was complete in under a few seconds, but the woman at the center of his attention noticed the lack of eye contact instantly. She traced the trajectory of his eyes and looked down enough to bury her chin into her collarbone. Her vision was greeted to the same scene that her man could not free his gaze from. The matriarch raised her head back up to see the blonde was now looking back at her. To accentuate her chest, she squeezed them between her arms. She bit her lip seductively.

"Do you like them?" Her answer was him dumbly nodding. It sent her a jolt of excitement to see the man enraptured by her body. Black eyes once again looked down, but this time they suddenly stopped halfway to their previous destination. She gasped in surprise.

"Oh! You _really _like them!" Mikoto exclaimed. She sunk down to once again be laying on her belly, right between the blonde's legs. Her hands came to rest on both of his thighs, and her head was inches away from his groin, which was what she was referring to. Naruto's eyes widened in anticipation as she inspected the squad sized tent that he had pitched in his boxers. The combination of kissing and seeing her perfect mounds left him with a painful erection. The Uchiha raised her right hand and slowly moved it towards the covered organ. A single finger tapped the tip of it lightly, but it was enough to cause the man to start breathing a little heavier. She noticed it and a predatory grin became etched on her face. She took her hand and pushed the member down against his stomach before rubbing back and forth over it. All the while, she maintained fierce eye contact with Naruto. With each movement she made, with every touch, she watched his face morph into different states of arousal. She could feel him, harder than steel, pulsate in her palm. Empowered by the way she was able to excite him, she decided to go further with her pleasuring of him. Her hand regretfully left his piece to find itself putting a finger underneath the hem of his boxers.

"Let's see what we can do about this." With a slow tug, Mikoto was able to pull her lover's boxers back and free his penis into the open air. As soon as it could, the member sprung back up to point straight to the ceiling. It almost smacked the woman in the face during this, something that she would not have been offended by. From Naruto's point of view, he saw the woman's beautiful face bisected by his rod, which ran from her chin to well past her forehead. He was proud of his three piece set, but it looked like it dwarfed the woman.

"Are you sure you can handle all this?" He asked with a little concern. A hand instinctively came up to scratch the back of his head in embarrassment. He did not want to sound egotistical, but he had to be sort of realistic. Mikoto gave an amused "humph" and her mouth switched into a confident smirk that Naruto had seen Sasuke sport before. He swallowed some air. Uchihas had competition in their blood.

"Just sit back and try not to blow your load _too _early." The way she said this excited Naruto to no end. While maintaining eye contact, Mikoto wrapped her soft fingers around his red hot pipe and gave it a few tugs, making sure to caress his entire length. She then stuck her tongue out and pressed it against the center of his sac. Her tongue teased his balls before she sucked one into her mouth and began stroking a fistful of his cock. Naruto moaned from the unfamiliar sensation he was subjected to. After a decent amount of attention, she let his one testicle go only to give the other half of the pair the same treatment. The stroking of his dick got faster and harder with her hand now rotating as she traveled up and down his shaft; Mikoto was really trying to prove herself. After a short while of pumping his rod, she let him out of her mouth and released her grip only to flatten her tongue against the base of his organ. She glided it slowly all the way up to the swollen tip, where she deftly swirled it around the head for numerous rotations. After she pushed strands of hair behind her ear, she took him into her mouth for the first time. With about a third of his pole inside of her warm, wet mouth, she once again began swirling her tongue around in circles. Lewd sounds filled the air as the woman worked her magic. At this time, the one receiving most of the pleasure snaked a hand through her hair.

"Damn you're good at this!" He barked out through gritted teeth. The feeling her orifice provided his cock was an indescribable pleasure. He found himself gripping the sheets of the bed below him with his hand that was not on the woman's head. Blue eyes were unblinking as they stared into warm black ones. When he felt Mikoto's head try to raise itself, he removed his hand and allowed it to, albeit hesitantly. The black-haired bombshell let the subject of her efforts leave her mouth, and she took some deep breaths. She continued to stroke the thing even though her mouth was unoccupied.

"Thank you!" She said gleefully and sat up. She let go of the man's dick, causing him to give a dissatisfied whimper until he saw her pick at the hem of her shirt. He stared with unabashed amazement as she sensually peeled the shirt off of her curvaceous body. She stopped raising the shirt just as the bottoms of her boobs became exposed to purposefully tease her lover. Then she pulled the shirt tight against the plump melons and used it to pull them up. With each inch that she pulled the shirt up, the breasts threatened to be exposed more and more. When she just about got to her clavicle, the friction could no longer carry the weight and her pale mounds fell out, much to the joy of Naruto. The little strip tease he had received had him begging to feel her juicy mouth around his cock again. Unfortunately for him, it did not seem like that was going to be happening yet.

"One of the perks of being with older women," she began while spitting on the area between her breasts, "is that they know exactly how to please."

Naruto could only hope he knew what she was about to do when he observed her erotically spreading saliva over the inner sides of her pillow soft orbs. With her tits shiny and wet, Mikoto returned to her on-the-belly position but was slightly higher up than the previous times. Naruto was elated to see that he was correct when the woman lifted her breasts and rested them on either side of his meat pole. He had always wanted to try this ever since he had read about it in one of Jiraiya's books.

"Since you like them so much, I thought you'd want to try them out." Naruto never nodded faster in his life, and a loud grunt escaped from his throat when she pushed her mounds together and sandwiched his unit. The slick skin felt great as it rubbed against his own. Not nearly as good as what it felt like to be inside of her, but he would never complain. She bounced her mammaries up and down his shaft before adding her mouth into play. A good portion of his cock was still exposed even with her well-endowed efforts, so she took in his head and skillfully sucked on his pleasure stick. The Uzumaki was having a hard time being remotely quiet with all of the bliss that he was receiving. His hips moved upward in an attempt to get even more of his friend into her mouth. The mother opened her mouth wider to help in his efforts, which he took full advantage of. He bucked his hips towards her stationary head to bury himself all the way to the back of her mouth. Her head was pushed down to help. It felt so good that he continued to do the action, which caused Mikoto to make a "gluk" sound whenever his pipe reached the beginning of her throat. Suddenly, she put her hands onto Naruto's thighs and gave them a squeeze. The man immediately stopped his thrusting and released his hands, allowing her to back her head away from his piece until her mouth was free. Both used this lull in action to quickly get oxygen back into their starved lungs. Reinvigorated by the fresh air, the blackette began quickly flicking her tongue side to side over the hole at the tip of his dick. At times she would push her tongue down against it. A loud, guttural sound rumbled from his throat. He could only agree with her now about what she said. She knew _exactly _how to please. She looked up at him with her eyes and winked before pulling away farther.

"I'm surprised you haven't cum yet. I think you deserve a reward." She gave a sweet smile, which almost unnerved the man. He was barely holding on as it was, and this reward might break him. She backed up into her original position and stuck her pink muscle out as far as she could before situating her open mouth above his member and plunging down onto it. She took in a third, then a half, and then three quarters on her quest to reach the base of his dick. Naruto watched in disbelief as she bottomed out on his rod. He moaned at the sensation of her moist throat clamping around his organ and her fingers toying with his balls. He did not think it could get any better than what was happening right then, but he was at a loss of any functionality when she began to hum. Her vocal cords sent vibrations to the inner walls that gripped his cock, and it was one of the most stimulating sensations he had ever felt. With both hands on her head he voiced that his end was fast approaching.

"Fuck Babe, I'm gonna cum!" His declaration elicited no response from Mikoto, who was hard at work making Naruto melt in her mouth. Moments after he felt the pressure begin to build, the blonde erupted inside the awaiting mouth of his secret lover. His dick throbbed harshly as it pumped torrents of seed out and into her mouth. Only then did the woman lift her head up again. She stopped and stroked the shaft while sucking its head, trying to milk every last drop. After a few moments, she swallowed, much to the amazement of Naruto. She pulled off of his head with a loud pop and gave a coy smile.

"I definitely_ can_ handle it" She giggled while smiling with closed eyes, resembling a joyful child. A flabbergasted blonde stared dumbly at the now showboating woman and did a double take. How could a woman that just did what she did look so cute and innocent afterwards?

"You're the hottest woman on the planet." He stated as if it was a common fact, which to him it was. It was said out of the blue, too, but he was still coming down from a mind-altering orgasm. Mikoto's face lit up in amusement at his state and crawled up to kiss him again. The blonde, who was still a bit out of it, instinctively returned the kiss. By the time they separated, his head had cleared enough to leave him with a sneaky smile. Before the woman could comment on his minorly unnerving facial feature, she was pushed down onto her back, and Naruto slithered his way down to her pelvis.

"Your turn!" He said with a cheshire grin. Two hands were placed on either side of her loose shorts, ready to pull them away. They never did though, as Mikoto stopped her lover.

"Wait!" she began, causing the blonde to look up at her, "I uh… I have to use the bathroom."

"Oh... That's fine." An idea came to him shortly after. "I'll go get our laundry while you're doing that."

"I'll be right back." Mikoto said before sitting up and sliding off of the bed. Naruto copied her, but did not leave the room with her. He dug through the same drawer that he did the night before and produced an identical pair of shorts to wear. His lover's discarded shirt was in his immediate vicinity too, so he just slid that over his head and called it good. He was reaching for his door knob a moment later, trying to finish his errand quickly. He lacked the slightest clue as to how long she would be in there for, but he did not want to keep her waiting. The door closed behind him and a key turned the lock to secure it. Locking the door was something he rarely did, but he would never risk someone walking in on his now topless love interest. He descended the exterior stairs and entered the still vacant laundry room to retrieve their fresh clothing. He grabbed a basket, placed it in front of the dryer, and haphazardly dragged clothing from one container into the other. It was not a gargantuan task by any stretch, but it still took the hurrying man longer than he would have liked to complete. When all the clothes were placed in the basket, he picked it up and left. Naruto's first step up the wooden staircase was barely complete when he heard a familiar voice behind him call out his name. He froze mid stride and his head dipped.

"Oh gods no." he whispered under his breath. The voice called again, this time louder and more direct. After steeling himself, he slowly turned to face the source. A smile was on his face and forced happiness saturated his voice

"Hey, Sakura. Nice to see you!" That was a lie. She could not have picked a worse time to show up; Her crush's mom was topless in his house. She did not know that though, and Naruto was determined to keep it that way. He opted to portray his overly positive self as to not raise any suspicions. The pinkette jogged to catch up to him at the base of the staircase, showing obvious signs of annoyance. Naruto groaned internally at his luck. Not only was she here, she was already in a bad mood.

"Where have you been?" She asked with crossed arms. He shot a thumb behind him.

"Here." He deadpanned before continuing up the stairs. Sakura followed him while continuing her interrogation.

"Really? Tsunade said that when she sent someone to get you no one answered."

"I had a late night. I probably didn't hear the knocking."

"You should have gone to bed earlier then. You know that you're on call, right?" He nodded lightly. They were standing on the landing to his apartment door.

"Yeah, I know. I know… Is that why you're here? To come get me?"

"Yes. It's a mission."

"Got it. I'll be there. See ya soon." His replies were short and direct. He expected her to leave him, but she stood there as if expecting him to invite her inside. No chance. He turned to his door. The basket in his right hand was transferred to his left so he could grab the key nestled in his pocket. This put the basket closer to Sakura's view, who idly inspected its contents. The key had just clicked into the lock when a short gasp startled Naruto. He whipped his head to find a wide-eyed teammate, and his heart rate increased.

"What?" He asked. Sakura's eyes were looking down at his limp arm. Naruto glanced at the basket and looked at the clothing. Something that he did not do when he packed them into the container. On the top of the messy pile were the two things he wanted to hide, exposed for the world to see.

"Whose… Whose are those?" A weak finger pointed at the black lace undergarments.

"Uh… I…" Naruto's mind raced to find an excuse that would actually have a snowball's chance in Hell of making sense without exposing his recent activities. He could not find one in time.

"Do you… have a girl over?" He almost admitted to having a female in his house, but in his panicked state, he decided that denying everything was the best course of action.

"No!" He mentally slapped himself. What else could he say to explain this?

"Why do you have those then!?" His mind blanked and could not respond. Unfortunately for the man, Sakura came up with her own answer. She withdrew her hand with a look of disgust on her face.

"You stole them!" The accusation was ludicrous, but Naruto had done nothing to help his situation.

"What? No!" He interjected, but his voice was lost in her loud accusation.

"You pervert!" Her fist was cocked back in anger before being sent towards the blonde's torso. Naruto could do nothing with both his hands occupied. He tried to dodge but the intimacy of the space between them did not allow for evasive maneuvers. Remembering all the other occasions that the woman had gotten violent, he braced his torso for impact. The attack hit him square in the gut and sent him against the door.

On the other side of the door was Mikoto, who was sitting on the couch. When she had finished using the bathroom, she excitedly returned to Naruto's bedroom thinking that the blonde man would be patiently waiting for her. When he was nowhere to be found, she went out into the main room to look for him. She looked for her borrowed shirt too, but gave up after a few moments of futile searching. Deciding to wait for the return of her lover, she fell down onto the couch and made herself comfortable. That was when she heard two voices through the door with one of them being Naruto's. Her hearing could not distinguish any words being spoken until the voice she did not recognize screamed clearly through the door. That was what Mikoto experienced leading up to hearing a loud bang. The front door, unable to withstand the extreme forces put upon it, buckled and flew off the hinges. The blackette's eyes widened as she watched the blonde she was looking for fly into the house while spinning slowly. She traced his travelling body with her trained eyes, which miraculously met the man's midair. They stared at each other, and he rolled his eyes at the situation he was in before he crashed into the back exterior wall. The basket of laundry practically exploded when he landed, sending the clean clothes everywhere. He grabbed his back in pain and dusted some rubble off of himself.

"Man, I just had that door replaced!" He lamented. The grieving did not last long though as Sakura menacingly walked towards the blonde while hitting her palm with a closed fist. She did not notice the woman on the couch when she entered; her rage gave her tunnel vision. Naruto tried to back up but just reared into the same wall. He stammered when trying to calm the unjustly furious woman down.

"I-I didn't steal them."

"Then why are they here?" Her eyes were white with blinding fury.

"They're mine." Sakura's temper instantly dissipated when she heard an unexpected third voice enter the fray. Her head snapped towards the source of the words and saw a black haired woman who was in the process of putting on the same bra that she assumed Naruto stole. During the impact, the piece of clothing flew right into her lap, so she was able to quickly cover her modesty.

"Who are you?" Sakura asked. She was not answered immediately. Instead, the other woman walked over to the blonde and assisted him up while looking him over. When the center of her concern stated that he was fine, she finally gave her answer.

"I'm his girlfriend." It was said in a sweet voice, but there was a slightly hostile undertone. Sakura's confidence shrunk.

"Really?" The answer threw Sakura through a loop, making her silent in surprise. The thought of Naruto having relations with someone was foreign to his former teammate. She inspected the other woman with a quizzical expression over her face.

"She is," Naruto confirmed, "Now can you leave or something? I have to take care of a few things. It won't take long."

Sakura unexpectedly listened to the man and walked outside to go down the stairs, mumbling incoherently as she did so. She would have closed the door on the way out, but it was kind of on the floor. When Naruto could no longer sense her, he let out a breath he had been holding and faced his newly declared girlfriend.

"Well, we just dodged a bullet. I don't think she has the slightest clue as to who you are. That's good, but what isn't is that I've been called for a mission, so I'll be out for a while." Mikoto nodded and the two swiftly picked up the scattered clothes to get dressed. After getting fully clothed, the couple exited in the same fashion that Sakura did. Naruto looked back at the busted door and made a contemplative clicking sound with his tongue while slowly shaking his head.

"Landlord's gonna be pissed," he said before turning back and continuing their walk to the Uchiha compound. After the recent scare, the two opted to be in their trademarked disguises. Unable to jump along buildings due to portraying ordinary citizens, they walked briskly instead.

Like many times before, they found themselves standing at the entrance to Mikoto's house with the woman in the doorway and Naruto just on the outside. They embraced when their time together was coming to a close.

"Be safe out there." She said with her open hand over his heart. He lifted his head to get a better view of her.

"I will. I'll see you as soon as I get back.

"I look forward to it," She looked up at him with a grin, "We can start back up where we left off."

"I'd like that." He returned a smile and leaned in. Mikoto was soon to meet him. When they pulled away, Naruto tightened the hug for a second before he let go completely. The two stood there with a pace between them, neither of them wanting to or knowing how to say their goodbyes. The man was compelled to say something to bring their interaction to a close, so he did.

"Love you."

"Love you too." He raised a hand to wave goodbye and jumped away, releasing his transformation as he did so. Not too long after his reluctant departure from the woman, Naruto made it to the entrance of the Hokage tower. When he landed on his feet and opened the large door, he spotted Sakura standing in the lobby. She noticed him as well, and it appeared that she had been waiting for him. Her hand came up in a wave, and the man returned the gesture. His former teammate walked up to him, and the two headed for the staircase. As soon as they crossed the threshold into a less crowded area, the woman once again began interrogating the blonde."

"So, what's her name?" Naruto shot her a sideways glance.

"Who?" She huffed and tossed her head. The man knew exactly who she was referring to, but he was stalling to come up with a fake name. He defaulted to using the name he had created just days before.

"You're girlfriend, who else?"

"Oh. Narumi."

"Narumi? That's a unique name." Naruto nodded in agreement. It was almost like the name was partially made up.

"She's beautiful, but she's obviously older than us. Do you know how old?"

"No clue."

"You haven't asked?" Her answer was a strong and quick shake of the head.

"You've taught me first hand not to ask a lady their age." A fist is a good mnemonic device in Naruto's case. Sakura was going to respond to that, but opted to ask more questions instead.

"Where did you two meet?"

"A bar."

"Really? You don't go there often, if ever. How long ago?"

"Few weeks." It had actually been a few months, but misinformation was the goal. Sakura went quiet as she processed the information that she received. It was convenient timing as their conversation ended just as they reached the doors to the Hokage's office. Naruto stretched an arm to the doorknob, twisted it, and pulled the door open. He held it open for the woman to go in before him. It was a habit that manifested from the many doors he held open for Mikoto while on their romantic excursions. The pink haired lass gave a nod and a small "thank you." He closed the door behind them and gazed into the room. He was surprised but glad to see his other former teammate in the room along with his unofficial grandmother. The former of the two mentioned looked indifferent, but the latter was visibly annoyed.

"Uh. Sorry I'm late. Wild night." He scratched the back of his head. Sakura blushed at the implication. She was now privy to information that others in the room were not. Tsunade's strained eyes softened, and she had a small smirk.

"It's not all bad. You gave Sasuke enough time to get back to the village, so I only have to debrief you once." The Hokage said. Naruto gave a nod of acknowledgment to his black-haired teammate. One that was deftly returned. The blonde was always glad to see the Uchiha before him, but he was even more glad that said man decided _not _to go home before taking another mission. Sasuke's dedication made it easier for Naruto to be with Mikoto. Thinking about this fact reminded the Uzumaki about his promise to his girlfriend. The promise of changing Sasuke for the better. If the man was going to be joining him on the mission, that would be the perfect chance to start fulfilling his word.

"So now that we're all here, what's this mission?" Sasuke asked.

"How does liberating a town sound to you three?" Naruto grinned at the prospect. It had been a while since they had heroically saved townspeople. Even longer since the three had done it together.

"I'm always on board for these types of missions!" He answered. Sakura nodded her head in agreement, and Sasuke gave a content "hmph."

"Good. Now, on to the details," Tsunade began while taking a look at the paper in her hands. "It's in the Land of Iron. The town of Molten Sun is being forcibly occupied by a large coalition of rogue samurai."

Naruto's eyebrows raised to his hairline in intrigue at the details. The Land of Iron was not a quick walk away. He was going to be out of the village for a considerable amount of time. Sakura's eyes also widened, but for a separate reason.

"Lady Tsunade, don't the samurai usually avoid interacting with ninja? Wouldn't they rather handle this amongst themselves?" The Hokage nodded.

"They would never meddle with us if they could handle it themselves, but a samurai has not requested this liberation. One of the residents of the town has. He's a wealthy businessman, one of the most prolific distributors of chakra metal among other combat goods. The regime occupying the town has put a complete halt to his entire operation. That's where you come in. Helping him ensures a favorable relationship between our village and his much needed business. Any other questions? If any come up, take a look through the official request." She threw the paper into the hands of Sasuke, who stored it away.

"With that out of the way, I need to go home and restock before we head out." Sasuke declared before exiting the room. Naruto offered a similar statement before he left. With the two men gone, only Sakura and her master remained. She looked behind herself to make sure the two men were long gone before she addressed her Tsunade.

"Miss," the pinkette began, "I'd like to talk to you about something."

Naruto travelled down the stairs two steps at a time and jumped off the last four steps like a thrill seeking child as he made his way out of the building. Walking through the lobby, he saw the Uchiha once again chatting up the receptionist. Whenever Naruto was lucky enough to cross paths with his friend in the Hokage tower, it would always end up with him catching Sasuke flirting with Mimiri. He would tease the two in good fun, but they would both vehemently deny any of his observations. However, he suspected Mimiri only said what she did because she was copying her interest. This time, he decided to let the two socially awkward people have their time together uninterrupted. He went straight out the door and towards his house. There was a mission he had to prepare for. Regrettably, it would keep him away from his newfound love for at least a week.

AN: The lemon section of this chapter was not planned. In fact it was just me practicing writing erotic scenes, but I decided to keep it in. Also I'd like to mention TheSlySage, who commented about picturing Sakura walking in on Naruto and Mikoto. I had a laugh when I read it because that situation is exactly what I had planned to write. I was on the fence about including it, but reading that comment swayed me. There have been a couple of times when I've been reading something and picturing what comes next and it comes true. It's a crazy feeling when what you would like to see happen is actually what the author intends to write. I hope what I've written meets your expectations.


	10. Hot Sun, Cold Wind

The blazing sun shone down onto Naruto's light hair, causing the blonde to raise his resting head off of his chest and up to the sky. His blue eyes squinted and watered when they took in the powerful rays of the fireball above. The small smirk he had been sporting morphed into a disappointed line from the heat he was now being subjected to. When he had first arrived at the village gate to wait for his teammates, the great wall that enclosed his home cast an impressive shadow. The cool shade was welcomed, and he leaned against the object that darkened his form. Waiting in the shadows was a pleasant experience, but his dark refuge dwindled with each passing minute until he was met with his current situation. The great star in the sky was directly overhead, the wall's shadow down to inches, and Naruto's scalp was hot.

Despite cursing the state he was in, the man was fond of warm temperatures. They had been a constant throughout his life because of being raised in the Land of Fire. His tan skin was a testament to that. He could handle any heat with ease, but given the choice between sun and shade, one always took precedent over the other. His tortured soul was quickly rescued when he heard Sakura call out his name in greeting. Unlike the meeting between the two earlier that day, Naruto was actually glad to see her. He needed something to take his mind off of the heat that was assaulting him. Boredom was also gnawing annoyingly at his ankles. A conversation would remedy both. He pushed off of the wall with his back and walked towards her while waving.

"Hey Sakura." She smiled back and greeted him like she used to when they were younger.

"Hi Naruto. Sorry I took so long. I had to pack extra for where we're going." She patted the large pack that she carried on her back. Looking at Naruto, she noticed he looked exactly the same as what he did when they were debriefed. Her head tilted, and the man knew what drew her curiosity.

"Almost all of my gear is sealed away, so I always have it on me." He unbuttoned a flap on his flak jacket and revealed six small scrolls nestled in tubular pouches. Each scroll had a different colored edge for differentiation. Pulling out the wrong scroll could be a death sentence in a fight, so he opted to remove the thinking game all together. That amount of foresight was uncharacteristic for Naruto, but he had learned a thing or two. Especially from Mikoto. At the thought of the black haired beauty, his eyelids fell and a smirk grew. Sakura had been in the beginning of a conversation with him, so when the far off look came she was instantly confused. It was not uncommon for the blonde to space out, but to do so in the middle of talking was a feat that the woman was both impressed and perturbed by.

The pink haired ninja put a cautionary hand out in front of the daydreamer and shook it to draw his attention. No reaction came out of the blue eyes; they continued to stare straight through the woman ahead of them. Sakura scoffed and shook her head with a pinch of endearment. Visual stimulation did not break him out of his stupor, so she went to the next sense.

"Hey Naruto! Where's Sasuke?" She spoke up. His ears visibly twitched, and his head jolted.

"Huh?"

"Sasuke. Has he come by yet?" Her answer was the blonde's hair shaking from side to side.

"Really? It isn't like him to take this long." Naruto was about to speak up when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He tilted his head back up to the sun and looked to the top of the village wall with a grin. In his vision was the silhouette of a man backlit perfectly by the sun.

"You're right. What took you so long?" Sasuke jumped off from his perch and landed right in between the two. He addressed them both, but he was only looking at Naruto.

"Sorry about that. My mother and I had a talk." The blonde's face did not move a micrometer, but the Uchiha's words and eyes unnerved him immensely. He doubted that Mikoto filled her son in on her almost nightly excursions, but his faith in her trustworthiness did not put him at ease. Without skipping a beat, Naruto kept the conversation going.

"Oh, that's good. If you were going to be late for no reason, I'd've thought something devious was going on."

"Yeah? And what about Sakura? She was late today too."

"Eh. Her situation's different. Y'know?" Both of the Uzumaki's teammates gave him raised brows.

"No, I don't. Elaborate." Sakura was just as curious as Sasuke.

"She's like… a girl." Sasuke gave him the blankest of stares, while the other drew her head back incredulously.

"What's that supposed to mean, asshole?" She got him in a headlock and began bonking him on the head. It was more teasing than anything malicious, but the strikes still stung his head with each tap, and her grip was tight. His noggin was tight against her chest, giving Naruto the idea to have some more fun.

"Sakura stop! You're suffocating me with your breasts!" He said with feigned panic. He flailed his arms around to further sell the scene. The pinkette instantly let go of the man and pushed him away in embarrassment. He stumbled backwards with a toothed grin on proud display. Sakura noticed this and became aware of his mischief. A fist came for Naruto and hit him right in the gut. This hit was not a very playful one, and he was sent flying away for the second time that day. When he landed, he skidded on the dirt pathway that led out from the village. After stopping, he picked himself up, his smile unchanged.

"Just like old times!" He said cheerfully. Sakura turned her head to look at Sasuke with a 'get a load of this guy' look. It was returned with a small smirk.

"He's something else, hn?" Sasuke asked.

"He's insane." Her arms crossed and her head shook. They both began walking towards their dizzy teammate.

"That… or he's a masochist." It took a moment before the words hit Sakura.

"Maybe… Wait! Gross!"

"Can't be too uncommon for ninja, right? We get stabbed, cut, bludgeoned… all the time. People are bound to bring it back home from work." Sakura had a wide open mouth and even wider eyes at Sasuke's words. When they reached Naruto, he inquired about her facial expression. The Uchiha began to explain.

"We were just talking about…" He was loudly interrupted.

"Nothing! We were talking about nothing."

"Oh yeah?" Nothing peaked Naruto's interest more than… well, nothing. Sakura was not going to budge, however.

"Yeah! Let's get going!" She shut down the conversation enthusiastically. Each of her hands grabbed a fistful of the boys' collars as she began speed walking away from Konoha. Sakura practically dragged the boys along the road. Naruto looked at an amused Sasuke.

"Just like the old days, huh?"

"Yep. How long do you think she'll carry us?"

"At least to the border depending on how long it's going to take for her to get over whatever you were talking about." Sasuke mulled it over in his head.

"We'll cross the border and then some. You can count on it."

"I'm liking this trip already."

Sakura dragged the two like torn up teddy bears as she tried to escape the images that Sasuke unintentionally planted in her mind. She knew her best bet to get rid of them was to move, so that's what she did. The weight on both of her arms also helped take her mind off of it. When her mind was clear of any impurities, she dropped the two like a sack of potatoes. They each made a dull thud when they hit the earth below.

"Move your lazy assess. Your free ride is over." She clapped her hands to clean them.

"Well whaddya know?" Naruto said while dusting himself off, "We're past the border."

"I told you."

"You sure did… Alright, if we run until nightfall, we should be making good time on our trip, so let's get it going."

With those words the three jumped and sprinted towards the Land of Iron, even though it was still a good distance away. They kept pace throughout the day, jumping speedily through the trees with ease. When the concentration of vegetation became too sparse to use, they fell to the earth and ran. The air around them gradually cooled as they headed to their northern destination, so the team covered themselves with warm, white cloaks. Eventually, the dry but cool ground they sprinted over became covered with snow, and the trio knew that they were getting close to their goal. Satisfied with their pace, they agreed to shut it down for the night. Exhaustion in the blistering cold had the potential to be a death sentence. They nestled down within a dense patch of snow covered evergreens, which would act as a barrier from the whipping wind that had previously been assaulting any uncovered skin. The trees were nearly touching each other, but an intimate clearing was found, and it was just the right size to accommodate their gear and themselves.

Naruto elected himself to go find something to keep themselves off of the snow, so he split off from the unpacking group to do so. The weather was harsh and unforgiving in the location they were in, so it was not hard to find trees that had succumbed to their surroundings. He lifted two medium sized logs up and balanced them over one of his shoulders. After finding what he needed to, the blonde made his way back to his friends. When he reached the clearing again, he saw the two working snow into coves of shelter. It was an odd thing, but the snow was a good insulator. He slid the logs off his shoulder, causing them to crush the snow underneath. Naruto got to work on crafting the fire in the space between the two dropped logs. Green wood was slow to burn, and frozen wood was even worse, but they were ninja and had access to ways of ensuring a flame held on. Sasuke, after his little wall of snow was finished, joined Naruto and began slowly blowing fire onto the collected tinder. His blonde teammate blew wind on them to help. In no time at all, the wood kept a flame it otherwise would not have. It was a meager flame, but it soon became a warming blaze as more fuel was added to it. By that time, the three were sitting down on the dead logs, warming up against the fire.

Sakura expectedly sat with Sasuke, and Naruto sat across from them on his own log. It was eerily quiet around them, with only the occasional fire crackle or gust of wind making a noise. The silence put Naruto on edge for an indescribable reason. He would rather be hearing howling wolves than nothing. It was too quiet to enjoy. Sakura must have shared his sentiment, because she suddenly spoke up in a desperate attempt to get some noise travelling through the air.

"Sasuke," she started, "did you know that Naruto has a girlfriend?"

Sasuke raised his eyebrows slightly and gave a look at Naruto. The blonde cursed in his mind but nodded.

"I didn't. It is about time, though. What's her name?"

"Narumi."

"Never heard that name before. Is she a kunoichi?" Naruto just shook his head. He was not directly lying. She was a kunoichi, but not anymore.

"That explains why I've never heard of her. Maybe I've seen her around the village. What does she look like?"

'Oh, you're _definitely _seen her around before.' Naruto thought, but did not say anything. Instead, Sakura spoke for him.

"She's actually very pretty. She has dark hair, pale skin, and…" She had been facing Sasuke when she was describing Mikoto, and she suddenly stopped.

"What? Is there something on my face?"

"Well, she looks a lot like you, actually."

"Uh… okay." Sasuke was not sure if he was fine with being compared with a woman. He would not let this go to waste though. Turning his head to face Naruto, he asked a question.

"So, is that why you…" He let his words linger. His friend scrunched up his nose in thought before scoffing.

"Yeah, right. Bastard. Purely coincidence."

"Is that so? Maybe it was a subconscious thing." He was really milking it, which was unusual. Sasuke did not try to have fun often.

"Do you want to go missing? I can make that happen."

"I mean, if I do, I know who'll be the first one to come and bring me back. He's already done it a couple times." Sakura was getting tired of their banter and tired in general.

"Hey, you two can stop flirting now. One of you take watch and wake me up when it's my turn." She said as she huddled up against the snow embankment she formed. The two men looked at each other.

"I'll take first shift." Naruto offered.

"Thanks, but I'm staying awake a while longer anyways." He poked the fire with a stick, causing embers to fly out and fade away. The Uzumaki put his elbows on his knees and set his head down into the palms of his hands and watched the fire eat away at the wood. The pair sat there in silence, allowing their third teammate to fall asleep. A little while after she was slumbering soundly, Naruto spoke to Sasuke again.

"Hey, Sasuke."

"Hn?"

"When's the last time you took a break?"

"Right now."

"No-Not like this-I mean a break from missions."

"When it was my birthday. You were there, remember."

"That was the last time? Seriously? That was so long ago."

"It was only a few months ago. I've gone longer."

"Man, don't you get tired of it, being on a mission or two twenty-four-seven?"

"No. I don't have a problem with it."

"Does…" Naruto was going for it. He saw an opportunity and took it. He would have to wing it after this. "Does your mom have a problem with it?"

"She hasn't said anything about it. Why would she?"

"I mean, you are her son. Not only that, you're all she has left. I bet she's dying to spend time with you, and you just hop from one mission to the next, leaving her all alone. She probably gets awful lonely." Sasuke digested the words with unblinking eyes, despite the rising smoke stinging at them.

"I haven't thought about that." The comment irked Naruto, and he returned with a loaded sentence

"Please do think about it. And please do something about it." Even with the pleases, it still came out sounding demanding. There was a brief pause; Sasuke was judging him.

"Why do you even care?" It was not said in a 'mind your own business' way, but like an actual question. Sasuke was confused by Naruto's concern. Not wanting to give away the impression that he had some skin in the game, he came up with a different reason behind his adamant behavior.

"Because I've been lonely before. I know what that torture is like, Sasuke. Do me a favor and don't let your mother experience it." There was now a thick pillar of smoke billowing between the two, but Naruto's blue eyes pierced right through. Sasuke looked away and down into the fire.

"Take the rest of the night off. I'll cover it." Sasuke told his friend without looking at him. Naruto stood up and looked at his friend, but his eyes stayed glued to the scorching flames. The blonde then moved to where he would sleep and got ready to rest. With his back to the Uchiha, he gave one last plea.

"Please think about more than just yourself." He said as he shimmied his sleep pack around himself and closed his eyes. No sound ever came from Sasuke, but the fire roared loudly on through the night.

When Naruto awoke the next morning, he saw Sasuke sitting on the same log. The man was rummaging through his largest pouch, taking inventory of his belongings. Sakura was just beyond him, packing away the gear she took out the night before. The fire was reduced to ashes, but they still glowed with extreme heat when wind brushed against them. The blonde sat up and sealed away his sleeping equipment before walking over to the pile of embers. He kicked snow onto them and listened to the satisfying hiss as the opposite temperature met. By the time the snow extinguished the remnants of the campfire, all three of them were ready to continue on their journey north.

"Still have a ways to go, huh." Naruto said. Sasuke only nodded, but Sakura replied.

"It may look that way, but we're right on track. We may even make it faster if this clear weather keeps up." She looked to the cold blue sky that had not dropped a single snowflake yet. Naruto also looked up at the promising heavens and hoped they stayed favorable. A blizzard could set them back immeasurably.

"Let's get going then. It's better to move while we can." Sasuke said as he took point and sprinted. The other two were soon to follow.

They sprinted throughout the day, only taking short breaks to prevent fatigue. It was an arduous trek, but they reached their target village just as the sun was slipping under the horizon. Konoha headbands made their way into their respective pouches when the trio walked into town. Ninja were outsiders in the land on which they walked. Now they just looked like climate prepared wanderers as they walked around, looking for the inn. Their employer for this mission had made accommodations for them in the town inn, which they were happy to have recieved. Being outside all day in the cold really made them long for a warm, soft bed. They decided rest was the only thing on the itinerary that night; their muscles ached from prolonged use. The morning would see them scoping out the competition, and within a day or two they would have a battle plan. Tonight though, they would do their best to recuperate. When they entered the place of business and told the receptionist what their client had told them to, they were led upstairs to their rooms. Surprisingly, all three of them got separate rooms. An uncommon thing when out on missions, but a welcomed happening when it did. As soon as Naruto's head touched the pillow, he was out like a light. His teammates were not much different.

Recuperate was exactly what they did. They slept deeply and woke up much later than they usually did. If given the choice, they would lounge around all day, but that was not what they were being paid for. Their paychecks required more effort than that. So, the three began their operation.

The first phase of the plan was reconnaissance, and Sasuke took most of the load on that one. They learned who was important, how many there were, and what they were capable of. After assessing their information, the ninja decided that driving them out of the village was the best option. Naruto was the driving force behind this decision; he always preferred a deathless alternative. Sakura was also on board with her being a medic. Sasuke couldn't care less which way it went. Though, he did enjoy a fight. The next phase was to drive them out, and they executed it with precision. The village was free from them within three days of the ninja arriving, and no one fretted over the samurai coming back. Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto all got extra pay from their client upfront in addition to the pay they would receive back at home for completing the mission.

They left as quickly as they came and set off on the road home. Everyone was eager to get back to the village. All for different reasons. Their eagerness must have put a little more wind into their sails as they made exceptional pace on their way back. Instead of it taking two whole days to cover the distance, the group completed it in a day and a half. The sun was high up in the sky when the familiar walls came into view. They fell down to the path underneath the canopy of trees when they approached it. Naruto waved to the guards on gate duty as he passed, and the two waved back. The Hokage tower was their next destination. Tsunade was happy to see them returned unscathed. She had known the three since their genin days, and had grown particularly attached to them. She worried for them whenever they went on a mission, but was also confident in their abilities.

"How was it up there? Make any snowmen?"

"No, but we did make some yellow snow. At least I did." Naruto joked. Tsunade smirked, but Sakura stuck her tongue out in disgust.

"A successful mission, I take it."

"You bet."

"That's good to hear. I'll get a report from one of you when I can." She said and pulled back a drawer to produce another mission scroll like she had done so many times before. She pointed it in Sasuke's direction, but he opened his palm to her.

"No thank you, Lady Tsunade, but I'm taking some time off." His declaration caused raised brows from everyone in the room, and the Hokage looked at Naruto with 'what did you do?' eyes. The blonde just shrugged.

"Oh. Okay Sasuke, I'll have someone else do it. Come here when you want one. Other than that, you all are free to go."

"Thank you." Three different voices said in unison. They turned away and took a step before Tsunade suddenly spike up again.

"Wait. Except for you, Naruto." He spun on his heel to face his Hokage once more. His colleagues shut the door behind him, and the loud _chnk_ of the door clicking into place made him feel unusually nervous.

"What is it, granny?"

"Nothing much. I just wanted to know how it's going in your world."

"Pretty good."

"Is that right? How's the apartment treating you?"

"It's enough space for me."

"And the door?"

"It should have been replaced by now."

"How does the landlord feel about having to replace two doors within the same month?"

"He cussed up a storm when I told him I broke it again, but he's a good sport."

"How's Kakashi?"

"He's doing fine from what I know. I haven't stopped by to see him in a while." Naruto was starting to get confused as to why she would want to have small talk with him right after a mission, but he couldn't do much about it.

"You've been keeping up with Iruka more then?"

"Yeah. I saw him at the ramen stand not too long before I left. He's doing great."

"And what about Konohamaru?"

"Probably getting into some trouble."

"Good. Good." They were flying through questions, and he was answering them without much thought.

"Seen any good films recently?"

"Yeah I have. It came out a while ago but it was new to me. I enjoyed it."

"Eaten anything tasty?"

"Besides ramen?"

"Of course."

"I tried wine."

"How was it?"

"Bitter and gross."

"I've always been more into sake myself. How's Jounin life been so far?"

"Same as my life before, but I've got this cool vest."

"And how's Mikoto been treating you?"

"Wonderfully." He froze with his body ramrod straight as soon as the word left his mouth. Tsunade got all the information she needed. She leaned back in her chair with a devious smirk splayed on her face.

"Gotcha."

Naruto gulped.

Oh shit.

(A/N) Ah. A cliffhanger. Who could have seen that coming. Sorry if this chapter is a bit too filler-like and whatnot, but this all plays out in the end. I think it will at least. I only have floating ideas for the plot. We'll see how it goes.


	11. Payment Enough

Naruto stared blankly into the space beyond Tsunade's head, eyes wide like a startled deer. He was immobilized, but the brain within his skull raced to get some sort of foothold on the situation it found itself in. The terribly unexpected happened, an event that he had not once thought to prepare for. He was caught. Worst case scenarios bombarded his mind like a cynical slideshow, making him fear the repercussions that could become reality. His limp arms twitched and his clammy palms clenched. He could feel his pulse behind his eyes and hear it around his ears. He had seen better days. The smug Hokage's amused smirk slowly dipped as she watched the boy she cared about fidget in distress. She originally expected the boy to come right back at her with a witty comeback after being exposed, but the uncharicteristic panic he displayed now made the initial thought of watching him squirm in embarrassment unappealing. She uncrossed her arms and spoked to him in a soft voice.

"It's fine, Naruto. You're not in trouble." He did not seem to immediately acknowledge his pardon as he immediately went on the defensive. At least, that is what Tsunade could only guess he was doing.

"You... uh--but I--wha... she's..." His tongue tripped over itself. He was trying to speak faster than he could think. His mind was having a hard trouble coming to terms, but they eventually did. "I'm not?"

"No," she started with a warm smile, "Far from it, actually. "

The man's shoulders that were previously squeezing his neck dropped in relief, and a breathy sigh escaped his mouth. He looked up at the ceiling and fell down to his knees.

"Thank goodness! I thought I was going to be executed or something!" One of Tsunade's eyebrows raised.

"Executed? For dating someone?" Her words made Naruto stop his animated movements of joy. She was right to question his expectation, and after doing so himself, he realized that despite what it seemed like, he had been doing nothing to warrant punishment.

"Now that you say that, I do sound a little crazy. It just seemed like what I have been doing is bad. Y'know?"

"There's nothing wrong with dating someone. At least, nothing wrong enough to punish you for. Even if they're old enough to be your mother. If Sasuke finds out, however, that's a different story." Naruto winced at the idea, and decided that he should come up with a plan for if that ever did happen.

"Speaking of finding out, how did you?"

"Well, I've told you before that Mikoto and I are good friends." she got a nod. "She's come and visited me numerous times over the past few months, and I witnessed her attitude gradually change for the better. It's amazing what you've done for her; she's happier than I've ever seen her before... Anyway, I wanted to know what brought this on, but I could never get a straight answer out of her. She would always giggle and murmur something incoherent. I was without a clue until Sakura told me that you were dating someone who looked awfully similar to Mikoto, and your reaction a few minutes ago confirms my theory. I should have realized sooner, without her help, that my little Sunshine sure does like to brighten up people's lives." Naruto smiled and rubbed the ball of his foot into the hardwoood below like an embarrassed child. He had not been called Sunshine in a while.

"She's changed mine for the better too" He said bashfully. It was strange to be talking about his girlfriend to the Hokage of all people, but that was the crazy life he led.

"Do you love her?" Her question cut through the air. Naruto's timid demeanor vanished.

"Yes." It was said without the slightest hesitation. Tsunade's mouth curled into an even deeper smile.

"Then why are you still here?" Naruto looked around the room for a confused moment.

"I can leave?" He pointed at his chest.

"Go to her, loverboy." She barely finished her sentence before her door was flung open. He would've slammed the door behind him, but years of his granny chastising him for it caused him to slowly shut it. After it was though, he barrelled down the staircase to the lobby, where Sasuke was once again chatting up Mimiri. The Uchiha saw the blonde whip by and called out for him. He managed to catch his attention at the main door, and jogged up to him.

"Naruto, I forgot to tell you something when we first got back home." When Naruto looked at Sasuke, he realized that seeing Mikoto today was no longer a possibility. In his haste to run to her he forgot about the other Uchiha taking some time off. His elated mood dipped at the realization, and he started to regret telling Sasuke to spend more time with his mother. He quickly shook that thought away though; Mikoto wanted this.

"Oh. What was it?"

"Well, when my mother spoke to me before we left for the mission, we talked about how I would miss her birthday. So, we decided to have it after we got back. And I... I would like for you to join us in the celebration. We both enjoyed your company the last time. What do you say?"

Inside, Naruto was ecstatic to hear that he actually would not have to wait as long as he thought to reunite with his lady. On the outside, however, he just smiled.

"Sasuke," he put his hand on the man's shoulder, "I would love to."

The dark haired man flicked away the blonde's hand off of his shoulder, but showed a grin at the answer.

"I'm glad to hear it. We're celebrating tomorrow all throughout the day."

"Alright. I won't miss it. Need me to bring anything?"

"No, she has been getting things in preparation for a while. I just need to go out and get her a present."

"Got it. Thank you, Sasuke. I'll see you tomorrow then." They nodded.

"Until then." He put his hand up to say goodbye. Naruto returned the gesture and pushed the front door open. His friend turned around to return to the receptionist. Once his back was turned to the door, Naruto bolted out the door and shot a triumphant fist into the air. The passersby on the street looked at him funny, but he could not care less. He took to the rooftops and headed in the opposite direction of his way home; he had some errands to run. His first stop was getting something to eat.

"Ahh. That really hit the spot." Naruto said while pushing his last empty bowl of ramen to the side. It clinked against the sizable pile of stacked bowls, which were holding ramen just minutes ago. He put a hand in his pants and dug around for his wallet, reenacting his usual routine.

"Thank you" Teuchi said while picking up the bowls. "We've missed you, Naruto. You and your business."

"I missed you and Ayame too." He finally brought out his wallet. "How much do I owe ya?"

"Nothing. Considerate a welcome back gift."

"Really? Thanks a million, old man!" He exclaimed and shoved his wallet back into his pocket. He would need that money elsewhere.

"No problem. You're company is payment enough."

"This day just keeps getting better." He said offhand before standing up from the stool. He said his goodbyes to the Ichiraku crew and left with a belly full of ramen. It sloshed around in his stomach with each step he took. With getting something to eat out of the way, Naruto continued through the village to the market district. It was still lively at this time, but not nearly as crowded as it would have been had he visited earlier that day. He could actually walk down the street without having to bob and weave his way through a sea of people.

He knew that Sasuke told him that he did not need to grab anything for the party, but he still felt obligated too. It was his girlfriend's birthday after all, the first one that he would be a part of, and getting a gift for her was a priority. The question that circulated in his mind though was what to get her. His head was on a swivel, judging storefronts on either side of him. He hoped that a store would come by that would have the perfect gift. He stopped in the street when he saw the lit up sign of a jewelry store just to his right. It was understood by Naruto that women enjoyed jewelry, so he decided to give it a go.

The bell above the store door chimed loudly when he entered, and a small lady sitting behind the counter looked up at him. Her eyes squinted for extra vision even though thick glasses sat on her face.

"Hello young man. What can I do for you today?" She said in a sweet but dry voice. Naruto had no clue what he was looking for, so he described his situation.

"Well uh... My girlfriend's birthday is tomorrow and I wanted to get her something special. I guess."

"Exciting. What do you have in mind?"

"Not the slightest clue." She looked at him blankley for a moment before shaking her head and chuckling.

"Well, can't say I didn't expect you to be clueless. Most men who come in her are."

"Yeah, this is new to me. Can you help me find something?"

"Depends... How special is she to you?" She slid off of her stool and hobbled over to the cabinets near her.

"Really special."

"Like marriage special or 'I want to keep you locked up in my basement so only I can see you' special? 'Cus I sell both."

"What?" He asked intelligently.

"Nothing. Here's a better question: Do you love her?"

"Yes." He answered confidently for the second time that day.

"Okay, that's a start." After she said that she began fishing around in the cabinets. "How much?"

"The price doesn't matter to me."

"Not the price you dork. How much do you love her?"

"Oh... A lot."

"You're gonna have to be better at describing how you feel than that." Naruto put a hand up to his chin and gave it a thorough go with his brain. His hand fell back down to his side when he found his answer.

"She's the only woman I've ever felt this way about. I've enjoyed every second that I've spent with her, and I can't see my future without her."

"Bingo" she said while she picked out three boxes from the back of her cabinet. She then slid them onto the counter top and put them in a line. She opened the first one and let the man take a look at it. Naruto inspected it and immediately noticed its craftmanship. Tiny details were etched into the ring, detailing a serene scene of birds flying through the sky. It was a beautiful piece, and one that was sure to make anyone who recieved it happy.

"Nah. Not feeling it." Naruto said nonchalantly. The woman opened the second box. The pair of earings that were revealed made the previous ring look like one that came out of a gumball machine. Naruto admired their elegance, but they too fell short of his expectations. He shook his head in the negative. The woman hovered her hand over the last box hesitantly.

"You're a ninja, right?" He nodded. The box opened and a quality necklace was inside. It was made out of small silver rings linked together, and it hung metal bands shaped into a three dimensional heart. The bands were spaced far enough apart to be able to see inside of the heart, where there was a red gemstone. She pulled out the necklace and handed it to him. In the same case, under the necklace, was a ring with red etchings spanning its circumference. She gave that to him as well.

"It comes with both of these?"

"Yes. They're a pair. Go ahead and put some chakra into the ring. Naruto did as he was instructed and watched as the red etchings dimly glowed. He studied the glowing ring until he felt a warmth in his other hand. He looked at the necklace, which was brightly glowing, causing beautiful red light to spill out from the gemstone in the heart.

"Woah! This is awesome!"

"I knew you'd like it. The red gemstones in each of the pieces are a special, chakra conductive material. They were sourced from the same rock too, so they're somehow linked together."

"I'll take it."

"Great."

"How much is it?" Naruto was ready for the kicker, and willing to pay almost any price.

"Well, they've been sitting in the shop for a while, and not many customers that I get can use chakra. I'd be willing to let them go for..." She paused and looked at the contents in his hands.

"For?" He leaned his head in, preparing to hear a ridiculous price thrown at him.

"For free."

"Seriously?" He asked incredulously.

"All you have to do is put them to good use, which I'm sure you will." She gave a heartwarming smile.

"Wow! That's the second time today I've gotten something for free. You rock granny!"

"Don't mention it. I know what it's like to be young and in love, so helping a couple is payment enough."

"Alright. See you around. Thank you again." With that he exited the store and went on his way home.

Naruto whistled a happy tune on his walk back home, swinging his bag containing the jewelry around in circles to keep him occupied. He was in a good mood; three wonderful things had happened to him. He was invited to a party, he ate for free, and he got an amazing gift for his lover for free. He could not believe his luck.

The day's sun was long gone by now, and the moon illuminated the street to his apartment complex. When he got close enough to his building, he saw that his door had indeed been replaced. He also saw something on his door shining in the moonlight. He climbed the stairs, stepping over two at a time, to take a look. When he got to his landing, he realized that it was a paper taped to his door. He walked closer to read it.

_Naruto Uzumaki, I'm sick and tired of having to fix everything you break. This is the last time I'm ever allowing ninja on my property. You are no longer allowed to live here. I'm turning the utilities off soon too, so don't try to stay. Consider this an eviction. Best wishes, your landlord._

"Eviction?! He said it was no big deal. That passive-aggressive dick!" His mood did a complete 180 at the news. Now, instead of having a fun night, he had to spend it stressing over what to do for a living situation. He opened the door and angrily slammed it shut; it wasn't his responsibility anymore. The bag found its way onto the kitchen counter, and Naruto found his way to the couch. He fell back onto the furniture and sunk into the cushions. His head rested on the backing of the couch, and he watched the fan blades spin above him. He tried to track a single spinning blade with his eyes, and that settled him down enough to think clearly. The blonde decided to just start packing his things. If it was going to happen, let it, is what he came up with. He did not own much to begin with, and he could seal it all away relatively easily. The getting out part was not what he detested, it was the why he had to get out that rubbed him the wrong way. He thought he was in good standing with the guy, and now he had to go house hunting. He hoped that he would not be in transit too long. He also hoped that he would find a better place to live than what he had been for most of his life.

He packed late into the night, labeling scrolls and sealing items away. they were thrown into a single cardboard box, which would be the only thing that would leave with him. By the time he had decided to stop, he was dead tired. He had yet to seal away his bedding, for obvious reasons. He also had kept out a set of clothes, the ones he wanted to wear to the party that would be held the next day. The last item was the bag containing his gift. It sat right by the bed. When his head hit the pillow, he was out like a light. All anger left him, and he became an emotionless, immobile form on top of a mattress.

When consciousness came back into him, Naruto sat up and stretched away his sleepiness. He looked around the bare room and saw the pair of clothes by him and smiled; he would see her today. He then looked over to the box filled with scrolls. His eyes bounced between the two sets of objects before a wide smile crept onto his face.

"Maybe this whole thing is a blessing in disguise" He whispered to himself. He grabbed the clothing and walked into the bathroom to get ready for his soon to be eventful day. He cleaned himself up with a nice shower and shave before putting on his clothes. After dressing, the blonde gave himself a once over in the mirror, inspecting his outfit. He nodded contently at the reflection and went back into his bedroom to get things in order. He sealed up his bedding and tossed the scroll with the others. The last thing was the bag, and he pulled out the box and stuffed it into his front pocket. The room got a final once-over by the man. Finding nothing that needed his attention, Naruto picked up the cardboard box and walked out of the bedroom for the last time. He gave the same treatment to the bathroom, living room, and kitchen. When he was sure that he did not miss anything, he went out and shut the door behind him using his foot. He descended the staircase and walked by where his landlord stayed. He set the box down and produced his key, which he threw carelessly at the door. It had enough strength behind it that it dug into the wooden door like a kunai. He left quickly after, not wanting to see the man's reaction.

The travel time to the Uchiha district was drastically longer than what it usually was given that Naruto had to lug a cumbersome, albeit light box around. He could not run as the right amount of wind could send his entire house flying. Even with his walking pace, it did not take too long to reach his destination. He knocked on the door with his elbow, and it was opened by his bestfriend.

"Hey" Naruto said.

"Hi. What's in the box?"

"Eh. We'll get to it later. Where can I set this down though?" Sasuke decided to let it slide, rationalizing that nothing about his friend was rational. He backed up and pointed to the floor just by the door. The blonde entered and freed his hands from their burden. He said his thanks and clasped his hands together with a slap. The blonde head of hair turned every which way, looking for something.

"What are you looking for?" Sasuke inquired.

"The birthday girl. It doesn't look very lively in here."

"Mom's out in the village right now. She had some last minute things to do. She won't be long though."

"Oh, okay" Naruto said as he made his way over to the couch. He hopped up and fell backwards onto the plushy cushions, his body bouncing a couple of times as he sunk into the soft material. He stretched his body along the long furniture, making himself cozy. Sasuke made his way to the kitchen as the blonde reclined, and returned to his friend with two glasses of water. He sat on the unoccupied cushion at the end and set one glass down on the coffee table.

"Water?" Naruto nodded.

"Thanks" he offered as he grabbed the glass. He took a sip from it and set it back down. Naruto looked around the room that he, unbeknownst to the man sitting next to him, had been in numerous times. The familiar surroundings felt cozy, but there was an awkward silence between the two. He glanced at the black-hair-covered head in front of him. It was a first, but neither seemed to have anything to say to the other at the moment; they just stared at whatever small thing could keep their eyes. Eventually, Naruto came up with something to get the conversation going again.

"Sasuke, did you tell her I would be coming?"

"Actually, I didn't."

"So, I'll be a surprise of sorts." Naruto said in a signature tone. One that invited mischief and fun.

"Yeah I suppose... What are you going to do?" Sasuke looked at his friend, well aware of what his tone led to. He saw the blonde with a grin.

"I think I'll surprise her." It was cryptic to say the least, leaving Sasuke with interested yet skeptical eyes.

"And how do you plan to do that?"

"How about we hide?"

"That's surprisingly unoriginal of you." The blonde dismissed him with a shake of his hand.

"Whatever. It's simple and works. Got a better idea, genius?"

"No, but that doesn't make yours any better."

"Go turn off the lights and come back here." Sasuke looked at the blonde one more time, trying to see if he was truly being serious. Seeing no indication of the contrary, he sighed dejectedly. He walked over to the light switch and flicked it off, before turning back to the couch. His friend was no longer in view, and when he walked over he found him prone on the carpet.

"What are you doing?"

"Hiding. Get down here." The Uchiha unenthusiasticly fell to his stomach and dissapeared behind the couch.

"This is childish. Far beyond your usual amount."

"Learn to have some fun. Will ya?"

"This isn't my idea of fun. Or any sane person's, for that matter."

"Well, you'll just have t-" His voice fell instantly when he heard the front door's knob jangle around. He looked at Sasuke and held up 3 fingers by his side.

Mikoto opened the door and closed it behind her. Held in on of her arms was a bag of groceries, which was the reason why she had been out in the first place. She had not expected the house to be vacant when she returned, but she shrugged it off along with her shoes. The woman saw the box of scrolls as she did this, and gave it a long glance. She decided to leave it for now, and began her way to the kitchen. She was startled when two figures suddenly shot up from behind the couch.

"Surprise!" The blonde said. Sasuke said it too, but with far less enthusiasm. Mikoto had a hand on her chest and a smile on her face.

"Hello boys. What a surprise." Naruto poked Sasuke with his elbow and gave him an 'I told you it would work' look. He just shook his head in minor annoyance.

"Happy birthday, mom."

"Happy birthday, Mrs. Uchiha."

"Thank you, you two. It is nice to see you again, Naruto. It has been a while." She stared into his eyes with soft ones of her own.

"That it has. It's nice to see you too. How has your day been?"

"Great so far. I just bought the last of what I needed for today." She lifted her bag. Sasuke walked over to her, took it from her hand, and walked into the kitchen before signaling Naruto to come to him. He opened the bag on the counter and looked at his mother.

"We'll take it from here, mom." She was happy to hear that.

"Thanks again. I'll go change into something more comfortable." With that she exited the kitchen and entered the hallway, disappearing into her room moments after. Naruto traced the spot where she vanished, before turning back to Sasuke. The handle of a kitchen knife was pointed in his face, and he grabbed it. His friend had one of his own, and Naruto knew now why he was over there.

"Is this the only reason you wanted me to come? To help cook?" The Uchiha was already cutting and quartering the ingredients to his mother's birthday meal.

"Not the only reason, but yeah." A carrot was slid to the countertop next to Naruto, and he started cutting too.

"This is the second time I've had to chop things while in your house. Any more and I'll start charging a catering fee."

"You're already being paid."

"Really now?"

"You get to eat the food you make."

"And you think that would be sufficient payment?"

"If this soup isn't enough, the cake we'll make will be."

"Oh we're making cake? That'll be plenty sufficient."

Their conversation died off soon after, and the only sounds were of the staccato clacking of knives and the wind blowing through the open window. The third sound of a door squeaking open joined them, and the two cooks turned their heads around to acknowledge the woman returning from her room. Naruto's pupils dilated when he took im her image. She was in a bright, flowery sun dress that ended just before her knees. Held in her hand was a long brimmed straw hat, which she put down on the kitchen island. She sat down on one of the barstools to watch the two work. Sasuke had shifted focus to the stove and put a filled pot onto a burner. Naruto slid some ingredients into the pot on his friend's request, but paid more attention to the woman he now had his back to.

"Planning on going outside soon, Mrs. Uchiha?" He asked offhand. It felt strange to Naruto to address her as such, but his hands were tied. He wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible.

"I am. It is such a nice day outside, so I decided to enjoy it. I think I'll tend to my plants out front. It's been a while since they've been watered. By me or the rain."

"That sounds fun."

"It is... You said the last time you were here that you had an interest in gardening. Did you not?" Unable to deny himself any longer, he turned around to see her again.

"I did actually. I've just never had the opportunity to dive into it."

"Well, how would you like to give it a try for a bit?"

"I would love to. Sasuke, do you need my help right now or can I go help you mother?"

"I have it covered for now." Naruto patted him on the back.

"Thanks."

"We won't be long, honey" Mikoto said to her son as she stood next to the sliding glass door, straw hat already covering her head. Sasuke acted like he didn't hear it, trying to spare himself the embarrassment. Naruto smiled anyway and walked to Mikoto. He slid the door open for her, and the two exited onto the porch. Within a couple steps they were off of it and digging their toes into the soft grass that blanketed the property. A pail full of water was sitting at the bottom of the porch's stairs, and it was picked up by Naruto. A few more steps and they were on their way to the front yard, where her plants were on display. The alluring woman walked faster than the blonde, and she sauntered around the corner of the house before him. He didn't try to catch up though; he enjoyed watching her body move in the light dress that danced with every step.

As soon as he did round the corner, his head was pulled down to Mikoto's. The sudden action jerked the water bucket around, causing some water to slosh out and splash their feet. Neither of them cared in the slightest. Naruto even dropped the thing a moment later. All attention was allocated to the electrifying kiss that they were sharing. The Uchiha's soft hands cupped his face, and the Uzumaki's hands held onto her sides to pull her closer. Her hands slid from his face to behind his head, and she jumped up and wrapped them and her legs around him. He held her bottom to support her. The kiss somehow deepened; The pair fervently attempted to make up for lost time. Their tongues swirled together, their hands groped at whatever they could reach, and their pelvises grinded against each others. Everything about them displayed a lusty yet loving desperation for each other. Mikoto shot up for air, and her flushed cheeks matched her lover's.

"I missed you!" Naruto gave a short laugh and set her down.

"I can see that. I missed you too, babe."

"I could barely contain my excitement when you jumped out from the behind the couch. I didn't expect to see you while Sasuke was home."

"Well, he invited me to celebrate your birthday, so of course I would show up."

"It was such a surprise to see you. He left me in the dark on you coming."

"I heard. Did he tell you that he's decided to spend more time at home?" By the reaction on her face, Naruto assumed that she was not aware of that decision either. Surprise morphed into a magnificent smile, and the man was no longer regretting the talk he shared with his teammate. It was worth it just to see the joy she radiated.

"Did... Did you have something to do with it?" He shrugged in response, but he gave a coy look in her direction.

"I told you I would try, didn't I?" Before he had finished his sentence, his torso was lovingly squeezed in the embrace the woman gave him. Her head dug into his sternum, causing her hat to be pushed off. Naruto caught it by the brim and held it against her back. He returned the hug with equal effort and emotion.

"Thank you." He could feel her words vibrate throughout his chest, filling it with warmth.

"I'd do it a million times again too because I love you." She looked up at him.

"I love you too." Naruto's head lowered again to give her another kiss. This one was much more restrained and thoughtful, but contained the same amount of emotion as the first one. It was not too long after their lips met that they heard the sliding glass door move along its track. They parted away from one another, scrambling to hide their actions. Mikoto grabbed the watering pail and crouched down above her flowers. Naruto leaned over and propped his arms on his extended knees, trying to look like he was intently watching her. He had her hat in his hand, but he tossed it perfectly onto her head in a feat of athleticism. Sasuke rounded the corner a fraction of a second later.

"And you don't want to water your plants too much. It all depends on what it is, but the general rule is to dampen the ground, not to drench it."

"Damp not drenched. Got it." Naruto said with intrigue.

"Hi you two" Sasuke interrupted.

"Oh hey, Sasuke. Do you need help?"

"I've finished the soup, so you two can come in when you're ready."

"Wonderful," Mikoto began, "I'm hungry."

With that, the thee returned to the kitchen to enjoy some soup. After they finished, they retreated to the living room, where conversation flowed freely around. Laughter and camaraderie filled the space until they decided to make the cake. In a similar vein with the soup process, the two men manned the kitchen with the woman watching and commenting from the barstool. The baking went off without a hitch, resulting in a delectable dessert that they could not wait to eat. Following tradition, Mikoto blew out her candles and silently made a wish before they dug in. All three were satisfied with the end product, and they once again migrated to the living room for some more wonderful talking.

The place where Naruto chose to sit down indirectly faced the front door, and his eyes eventually drifted to his box sitting just by it. He was reminded instantly of his housing situation, and decided to roll the dice while moods were high.

"Hey Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember how you asked about my box?"

"Mhmm."

"Those scrolls are... kinda all of my possessions." There was a pause from both Uchihas.

"And why did you bring them with you exactly?"

"It's a... a funny story actually. You see I was uh... How do I put it... evicted."

"Evicted?" Mikoto repeated.

"Yeah. The landlord may have had enough of me." He scratched at his cheek.

"It was only a matter of time" Sasuke reasoned. A glare came from the blonde.

"So, I'm out of a place to stay, and I was wondering if I could..." He left his sentence open to try and let them finish it for him.

"If you could stay here?" He asked.

"Yeah. If it's not a problem. Just until I find a new place."

"I'm good with that. It's up to my mom though." Naruto was surprised by his willingness. Mikoto was too. Both men looked at the woman for the deciding answer. She just smiled.

"It'll be nice having two boys to look after again."

"Thank you, Mrs. Uchiha. I'll find some way to repay your hospitality in full." He shot her a glance that made her quiver.

"You're too kind," an idea popped into her head, "Let me go get some wine to toast our newest addition. Even if it is temporary."

With that, the woman walked into the kitchen and grabbed the fixings for wine drinking. Neither of the men payed attention to her actions but heard the clinging of glasses along with bottles opening. They fell into their own conversation until they were each handed a glass by her. She raised her glass in a toast, and the others followed suit.

"Cheers" all three declared. With the presence of alcohol, the conversations became seemingly more comical and enthralling, and they only increaed in these attributes as the night grew older. Sasuke was the worst for wear out of the three. He looked like he could fall over at any second. The other two were doing fine. Mikoto was used to her wine, and Naruto had his furry pal.

"I'm gonna go t'... sweep" Sasuke said after a yawn split his face in two. He sat up and swayed to his room, leaving the two hidden lovers alone. Moments after his door latch clicked into place, Mikoto pounced towards the unsuspecting blonde. She straddled his legs, pinning him to the chair. Naruto looked up into her hungry eyes, but a moment of clarity came to him.

"What if Sasuke comes back out?" She gave him a sultry smile.

"Oh, he won't be coming back out for a _while_. I spiked his wine." She put a finger on his chest.

"You're _naughty_." A cute chuckle came from her mouth. She then leaned forward, but instantly recoiled.

"Ow!" She grabbed her inner thigh.

"What?"

"Something hard in your jeans poked me." He snorted.

"I think that's your fault, Miko." She grinned but otherwise ignored the joke. She then grabbed the side of his leg and pinched an object in his pocket.

"What is this?"

"Oh," he remembered, "that's for you."

He pulled his leg out from underneath her and pulled out the small box. He handed it to her and gestured for it to be opened. She slowly lifted the lid away from the base, and gasped when the jewelry was revealed. The necklace was lifted out and inspected by the woman, who had stargazer eyes. She put it on around her neck to see how it felt. Naruto quietly slid on the ring and sent chakra to it. Another gasp sounded when the gemstone heart slightly brightened the dim room, filling it with a romantic red color.

"Happy birthday, love" Naruto whispered into her ear. He was immediately glomped by the ecstatic woman, who started kissing all over his face.

"Let's go to my room" Mikoto said. It was more of a demand than a suggestion, one that Naruto was happy to oblige.

"Lead the way."


	12. Catching Up

(AN: Sorry for talking so long to upload anything! I had to focus on other things for a bit. I have at least two more chapters already finished that I'll get to posting soon. If I had to guess, I'd say this story will be 80% done after the next two chapters. This chapter is exclusively a lemon and contains no plot elements whatsoever. It does have some intense fluff tho. Enjoy it if you want, but it's probably not that great. See you all soon!)

The lock to Mikoto's bedroom door had just clicked into place when Naruto was pressed roughly against the wooden slab. Its edges knocked against the door stops and sounded off a baritone thump. The shorter woman caught a fistful of his hair within her hand and pulled him down. Their teeth clacked from the unmeasured and reckless movement. The event dissuaded neither of them from lashing at each others' mouths. They wildly kissed like their lives depended on it. Lips parted to welcome the advent of tongues, which circled around one another. Mikoto snaked her muscle into her lover's mouth with ease. The woman's hands found a home on the back of his head, but Naruto's searching palms wandered around her voluptuous landscape, mapping it out with detail. They found comfortable places to linger but regretfully left as soon as they got acclimated. It was his way of unintentionally teasing the woman that currently dominated his mouth.

Satisfied with the victory, Mikoto withdrew and instead attacked her prize's neck. She sucked and nipped at it, causing that side of Naruto's neck to sprout goosebumps. Not wanting to be completely outdone, his hands finally came to a stop on her full bottom. The callused hands kneaded her rear like it was thick dough. She moaned right up against his head, sending hot breath to tickle his ear. He then reached lower, to the beginning of her thighs, and hoisted her up. She squeaked in giddy surprise, and he pushed himself off from the door. The two continued their previous doings, but Naruto slowly walked towards the bed with her in his arms. When his knees touched the mattress, he leaned forward and let gravity send them down onto the soft fabric. They bounced a couple of times, causing their faces to break away from each other lest they bonk their heads together.

Naruto took this brief pause to lean away and pull his shirt off, revealing a toned body to the woman lying on the bed. He fell foward to prop himself up above her, arms on either side. He took in her already disheveled hair, her loving smile, her enticing eyes, and her flushed face all with admiration. His eyes stared unblinking, like he was frozen in contemplation. Mikoto watched the display occur, and tilted her head like a confused dog.

"What is it?" She asked concerned. She watched him regain focus only for him to shoot air out of his nose in amusement and disbelief.

"I'm just wondering how I ended up with someone as beautiful as you." His sentence left her at a loss of words, but that was quickly remedied with him falling down and biting her ear. She exhaled a yip that was caught in her throat and snaked her arms around the naked torso of the man. He left her ear and travelled down to the nape of her neck, where he gave the same treatment. It wasn't too long before he went down farther, to the hem of her dress. He pulled away and looked at the now offensive piece of clothing. One strap had fallen over her shoulder, so he pushed the other one to match it. They both sat up, knowing exactly what they wanted to do. The woman raised her arms up to the ceiling, and the man pulled the dress away from her body. It floated down to the floor by his discarded shirt. A few moments later, it was joined by a lace bra

They fell back down into their previous position, and their forheads met for a heartfelt moment before Naruto took part of her ear into his mouth. He moved down in the same sequence he previously went but faster until he reached her collar bone. He stuck his tounge out and dragged it down to her right nipple. Mikoto's chest expanded from a sharp intake of breath as the blonde circled her rosy pebble with his hot tongue. Testing what he could do, he took it into his mouth and sucked on it. Not soon after he lightly tugged at it with his teeth. The woman's fingers weaved through his locks, and he took that as her enjoying what he was doing. After a decent time with that nipple, he moved to the neglected one to give it some loving. His subject's response was the same as the last time, and he stopped teasing her breasts to continue his journey south.

He sporadically kissed and sucked on her skin on his way to her pelvis, leaving little marks of love like a trail of breadcrumbs. His lips eventually started to kiss the fabric of her dampening panties, so he looked up to the woman he loved dearly. He saw her biting her lip in anticipation, so he decided not to keep her waiting. He gave a toothy grin, slipping his hands between her legs and the bed to grasp the bottom of her thighs and pull her to the edge of the bed. Her two appendages dangled over the mattress with Naruto just in front of them. His hands found their way to either side of her hips, and they began pulling at the article of intimate clothing. She lifted her legs to assist in his efforts, and after the task was completed, the kneeling man set them on top of his shoulders.

Naruto looked directly into her shimmering eyes as he slowly and teasingly leaned fowards towards her core. Her eyes were wide, watching with great intensity at every inch Naruto moved. Her head snapped back to moan at the ceiling when his mouth made contact with her sensative snatch. The blonde watched her actions and was immediately filled with enthusiasm. He attacked the outside of her folds, licking in any direction his tongue allowed. He could tell she was enjoying it by the squirming legs around him. He was not done yet. With one long, vertical lick he stopped at her pulsating bundle of nerves. Like the nipple he came across before, he took it into his mouth and applied suction. The previously squirming legs tightened and squished the sides of his head as a hand came down on top of his head. Though her legs were acting as effective earmuffs, he still heard her moan loudly. He continued his effort but added his tongue into the mix. It swung side to side, beating the clitoris like a practicing boxer. The bind around his head got tighter, and her heels dug into his back, pulling him closer. His nostrils were tickled by the puff of hair above her sex, but he continued to drive her crazy with his mouth.

One of his idle hands came to life as it reached up to join his face. He pressed a finger against the center of her folds and slid it inside, aided by her wetness. He pushed it in deep and wiggled it around. The combination of three different elements caused Mikoto to gasp and cover her mouth with her free hand. Naruto liked the way she was reacting to one finger and decided that he should add more. The second finger entered just as easy as the first and the two worked her core together. A zealous third finger soon joined the duo to bring his efforts to new heights. The woman's head jumped from one shoulder to the other as she writhed in ecstacy. Naruto looked onto her display with a copious amount of arousal. His arm moved back and forth as he vigorously fingered his lover.

"I'm so close!" She barked out. Naruto took it as a queue to go even faster in his ministrations. Her moans increased in frequency and volume as she tried in vain to squeeze Naruto even closer to herself. The blonde felt her hand grip his hair tighter than a vice and heared a muffled scream escape her lips. The muscles surrounding his fingers tightened and convulsed along with the rest of her body. She fell backwards from her sitting position to wriggle around on the sheets. After a few moments, she settled down with heaving breaths filling her lungs. The man pulled his hand and face away, which were both wet from her arousal. He stood up and began undressing what remained of his attire. Mikoto, in her recently regained clarity, saw what he was doing and rolled onto her stomach after moving her head to the edge of the bed.

Naruto kicked off the last of his clothing while staring down the Uchiha matriarch, who looked back at him with a gaze equally intense. His pleasing of her left him unbelievably aroused, and his soldier standing at attention proved it. Mikoto acknowledged it in her peripherals, and beckoned her man over with the simple curl of a finger. He took one step to close the distance between them; they were already so close. She extended her arm and swept her fingers along his shaft. He could barely feel them graze along, but he gritted his teeth. After raising herself up on her elbows, her head moved towards his piece. Her mouth met its head to give it a kiss before it parted her lips and filled her mouth. She relaxed her throat and let it slid in as far as it could. Her tongue circled and stroked every inch that it could reach, trying to wet it all down. Her attempt continued for a couple minutes before she pulled away to check her progress. Strands of spit stretched as the space between her mouth and his rod increased. She looked at his now glistening cock and was satisfied with her efforts. She sat up, scooted backwards into the field of the bed, and fell back down onto her back. The blonde was initially dissapointed when he felt her mouth leave him, but he soon realized that he was going to get something far better.

Mikoto had stuck a hand down to her nether regions and spread her pink modesty with her fingers; This was an invitation to Naruto. He made his approach to the excited woman by climbing onto the bed and crawling until he was above her. They could both feel the pocket of heat they created between them, and each had telltale signs of extreme arousal. She put her right hand up to place it on his pectoral, over his heart. She could feel it beat against her palm even with the dense muscle in the way. Naruto reached over with his left hand and took hers into his own before interlocking their fingers together. He lowered himself down to once again meet her lips, and their chests reveled in warm contact. His left hand slid up against the sheets, bringing the smaller hand with it. It was raised abover her head as they bit at each others' lips.

Naruto felt her warm hand wrap around his stiff piece. She gave it a few soft pumps, idly playing with it as they made out. Her pumps got progressively faster and harder as they went on. Eventually, he felt her bend his rod down towards the bed. She guided his head to rub against her sopping wet modesty. They both moaned as it pushed her lower lips around. After his member was covered in her juices, she kept it in place, pressing against her entrance. Naruto raised his head away from her to get a better view of her face. She pulled her hand out from underneath him and cupped his face with it.

"Don't keep me waiting any longer" She whispered. Naruto nodded his head with a goofy smile. It would have ruined the mood for anyone else, but his genuineness saved it. Their lips embraced again as he pushed his hips foward and slowly entered his love. They moaned into each others mouths, and Naruto began to pump in and out of her. His hand let go of hers and moved to better support himself. He would pull away until only his head was concealed and then gradually push his way in until their tufts of hair touched. Mikoto made cute noises as he did his work, causing him to wonder what would get the best responses out of her. His pace quickend, and her legs raised unintentionally from the increased stimulation. Her toes curled as well as he scraped against the sensitive spits within her.

His actions eventually increased to the point where loud, lewd sounds would gush out whenever their hips collided. Mikoto also let out breathless gasps as her lover's cock filled and stretched her insides. Combined with the man's grunts, they created an erotic cacophony that was sure to make anyone blush.

"Harder!" She cried. Naruto obliged and pulled away only to slam back into her core with great force. Her head flew back and she looked at the headboard of the bed with eyes wide with ecstacy. He continued his assault, causing the woman beneath him to wrap her legs around his back to try and hold on. They both moaned and grunted as they chased the dragon that was release. Neither of them were close, but they were sure on their way. Their passionate movements continued for a healthy amount of minutes more before Naruto could feel the end well up inside of him. It did not slow him down whatsoever, but he was now conscious of it.

"Babe," he began, "I'm close."

"Me too." She said through a short breath.

"Where..." He did not even finish his question before it was answered; He felt her ankles lock behind his back and pull him closer to her. He looked down into her eyes to see her focused on him. Her face was flushed with arousal like his own but he could see her love radiate through. Her usually cool black eyes look warm in the dim lighting, displaying contentment unlike any other. Her mouth, although wide and open from pleasure, was unmistakably in a smile. His thrusts almost became secondary to him as he studied the newley exposed beauty in her face. Despite his waning concentration on his movements, the two were still recieving lightning bolts of pleasure as they tried desperately to reach a climax. Naruto fell down to meet her mouth with his own once again. She feverently returned the kiss as she wrapped her arms around the top of his back. The blonde was near his limit, and he moved back and forth like a piston as he felt cracks begin to form in the dam. It was not long after he began to pump like a wildman that he was at the end of his rope. He touched foreheads with the woman and announced his condition.

"I am too!" She exclaimed. Naruto pushed into her with one last pump and drove deep inside of her. If she hadnt been already, this action sent her over the edge. Her muscular legs pulled down on his back with great force, pressing the two together as he emptied his seed inside of her. He shot torrent after torrent from his throbbing cock, and her quaking pussy tried its best to milk it all from him. They stayed in their interlocked position even after he finished spurting into her fertile core. They remained there with their huffing and puffing bodies shining from the sweat of their exertion.

Eventually, Mikoto's arms retracted from her lover's back and her legs fell down to the bed. Naruto sat up for a moment before falling to onto his back by her side. They caught their breath for a moment before looking at each other again. They had content smiles on their faces, but they both still held more energy. The Uchiha looked down to Naruto's waist to see his friend still standing strong. She grabbed it and gave it some light rubbing. Her hand played with it idly before she looked back at him.

"Do you want to go again?" She asked.

"Fuck yeah!" Was his understandably enthusiastic response. Mikoto felt the hardness in her palm jump with excitement. She got up and moved over on the bed to straddle herself onto his lower waist. Her wet lips rubbed along his shaft as she humped back and forth against him. There was no penetration yet, but the friction she created was working wonders for both of them. Naruto was surprised at how good the contact felt; he'd never imagined doing something like this.

After a few more back and forth humps from the woman, she sat up and stroked his pole for a few moments. She then guided it to be directly underneath her, stabbing at her entrance. She slowly lowered herself onto it with a long moan escaping as she slid down its length. When she bottomed out, she began to gyrate her hips. The action caused both to call out in pleasure. Naruto set his hands on her hips for no other reason than to hold something. Mikoto put her own hands on top of his, establishing yet another connection between the two lovers. Her swaying movements became more noticeable as she tried to increase the intensity of the already euphoric sensations that overwhelmed the two. Naruto lay there mesmerized by the sensual dance that Mikoto was unknowingly preforming for him. His eyes traced the path of her hypnotizing hips as they swirled from side to side. They then looked up to watch her beautiful breasts bounce with every movement. The pair of eyes looked farther up still to study the luscious lips that parted every so often to let a madness inducing sound come out. Finally, his eyes made it to the apex, the eyes of the Uchiha. Her black pupils stared down at him with a love that he had always longed for. Seeing all of her beauty, on the inside and out, drove Naruto to sit up and capture her lips for the umpteenth time.

Without skipping a beat, Mikoto fell into the smooch gracefully. A smile crept onto her face as their lips touched. It was the little things that he did that somehow always overjoyed her. She felt his hands slide down from her hips to cup her shapely rear, and he lifted her up slightly only to let her fall back down onto his erection. The woman got the idea and started to help him. She raised off of her knees to instead squat, allowing her to quickly raise herself with Naruto's assistance. The blonde once again lifted her up, but she went higher because of the new position. She slammed back down onto him, sending his piece deep inside her. They shared a grunt and continued to do the action that elicited so much pleasure. Naruto's mouth went from Mikoto's lips to her neck, where he sucked and nibbled on it. The woman craned her neck to the side, allowing him more access to her perfectly pale skin. She had goosebumps on her neck and a heat in her stomach as their hips smashed together like a compactor. In an attempt to make it feel even better, the man decided to started thrusting upwards as she was on her decent. It worked wonderfully, and both saw stars as the situation got unexpectedly better.

It was so good that the pressure that had been building since they began was reaching amounts that would soon no longer be able to be contained. Mikoto sent a hand down to play with her clitoris as Naruto furiously drilled into her snatch from below.

"I'm almost there, keep going!" She demanded while wildly swiping her fingers on her most sensitive spot. Naruto had no plans of stopping. If anything, he increased the pace to reach the finish line with her.

"I'm... cumming!" Naruto expelled. With one violent thrust upwards, he sent Mikoto over the edge with him.

"Yes yes yes!" She cried out as she climaxed. Her inner walls tightened around the base of his shaft and squeezed his member. Her innards were being coated as she quivered in excitement. A few seconds after their orgasms subsided, she fell foward to lay on top of him. Their bodies were stiff with ecstasy as they slowly came down off of their natural high. Naruto wrapped an arm around the body on top of him and tucked her head into his shoulder. She lovingly nuzzled into the space that his shoulder and neck created, blowing hot air onto his skin as she caught her breath.

They lay there in silence with the exception of their decreasingly labored breaths. Two lovers caught within each other relished in their contact. Naruto's palm started rubbing circles into the top of Mikoto's back as he stared through the ceiling above. It was an insightful time, the moments just after satiating their carnal desires. Gone was the lust, and in its place came reflection. Naruto knew this effect well, but never had anything substantial to mull over. Now he did, so he spoke up.

"I really missed you. Y'know?" She didn't verbally answer at first, but a hot burst of air tickled his neck again. Her arms also dug deeper into the bed to wrap him in a hug.

"I missed you too" she finally replied. Her speaking vibrated both of their chests.

"I... I don't think I ever want to be away from you that long again." There was a second brief time of silence. He could feel her heart beat against his chest because of their contact.

"Neither do I" she whispered. He smiled.

"I love you."

"I love you too." He bent his head at an angle and kissed her forehead. He then kicked the blankets up and pulled them over their lower halves. The two entwined soulmates stayed in the same position until sleep crept into their minds and the lights went out.


End file.
